"Whenever there were clouds of despair, Lord came and shone" - Aakash Chopra names Shardul Thakur as his Player of the Match

Aakash Chopra has named Shardul Thakur as his Player of the Match for the fourth Test between India and England.

Thakur scored a total of 117 runs across the two innings of the Oval Test. He also scalped three wickets at crucial junctures to make a match-defining contribution.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted that Shardul Thakur bailed the Indian team out of trouble on multiple occasions. He elaborated:

"My Player of the Match is Lord Thakur. Whenever there were clouds of despair, Lord came and shone. You are 127/7 and he scored a half-century on the first day and takes the team to 191."

The former India cricketer pointed out that after smashing a half-century in India's first innings, Shardul Thakur dismissed the well-set Ollie Pope. Chopra said:

"The opposition team is batting decently well. Ollie Pope is the batsman who has scored the most runs for them, who dismisses him - Lord Thakur."

Shardul Thakur chops on Ollie Pope, Shardul delivers when the team required. pic.twitter.com/PAlyHcWvue

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 3, 2021

Pope inside-edged a Shardul Thakur delivery onto his stumps after scoring 81 runs. The dismissal played a huge role in India restricting England's first-innings lead to 99 runs.

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Aakash Chopra on Shardul Thakur leaving his stamp on the match

Shardul Thakur played a 60-run knock in the second innings

Aakash Chopra highlighted that Shadul Thakur scored a crucial half-century in the second innings when India were in a spot of bother. He said:

"When you stumble a little on the fourth day, when Kohli, Rahane and Jaddu get out, then Lord comes and saves India again."

The 43-year-old signed off by stating that Shadul Thakur's vital dismissals of Rory Burns and Joe Root in the second innings completed his domination in the match. Chopra explained:

"And after that, when there was no player dismissed and England had reached 100 runs, who gets the wicket - Lord takes it. Lord gets Rory Burns out and then dismisses Joe Root. What else is he supposed to do? It is slightly unfair that bowlers get the empathy but my Player of the Match is Lord Thakur because his stamp is there on this match from the first to the last day."

Spot the difference! 🔎😝#LordShardul #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/eRWtjlvhXB

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) September 6, 2021

Thakur got Burns to nick a catch to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps just after the England opener reached his fifty. The Mumbaikar later returned to get rid of Joe Root and ended all hopes of England saving the match.