Virat Kohli praises Shardul Thakur with a cheeky quip in Marathi, hails Washington Sundar

Virat Kohli took to Twitter to praise India's newfound heroes Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar. The youngsters broke a 30-year-old record to string India's highest seventh-wicket partnership at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Both Shardul Thakur(67) and Washington Sundar(62) notched their maiden half-centuries in the process. Their 123-run coalition against Australia lifted the visitors from a precarious position of 186-6 to a commendable 309-7. India ended the first innings at 336.

While Thakur was flawless in his back-foot strokeplay, Sundar flaunted some breathtaking straight drives and a nonchalant six off Nathan Lyon.

Congratulating the duo on their century stand, Virat Kohli commended them for their 'outstanding application' and even quipped some praise in Marathi for Thakur.

"Outstanding application and belief by @Sundarwashi and @imShard. This is what test cricket is all about. Washy top composure on debut and tula parat maanla re Thakur!" said the Indian skipper.

The best possible way to go to a maiden Test 50! Well played, Shardul Thakur 💥@hcltech | #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/BhzAXTkfz9

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 17, 2021

"Tula parat maanla re Thakur" roughly translates to ''Tujhe phirse maan gaye Thakur" (Hats off to you again, Thakur). This is apparently a continuation to when Kohli praised Thakur for his cameo against West Indies in 2019 by saying "Tula maanla re Thakur".

Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar's knocks have put India in good stead

Few expected India's seventh-wicket pair to reprieve the innings against Australia's pace battery. However, the duo defied all odds and even played out the second new ball superbly to give the Aussies just a 33-run lead.

Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar's valiant knocks in the final Test have certainly put India in good stead to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

In response, Aussie openers David Warner and Marcus Harris survived the tricky six-over period at the end of the day to set up a riveting contest for Monday.

The average second innings total at the Gabba is 202. The cracks are opening in the pitch and India will want to restrict the hosts to anything under the par score.

The Australians will start their dig at effectively 54-0 and will look to set a target of around 250 for the visitors.