India needed quick wickets on Day 2 of the Wanderers Test but South African pair of Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen dropped anchor. It took KL Rahul 38 overs to give the ball to Shardul Thakur and the fast bowler turned the game on its head.
He justified his tag of being a partnership breaker and picked 3 wickets before lunch. His brilliant show with the ball didn't end there as Thakur picked 2 more wickets after the 1st interval and claimed his maiden 5-wicket haul in Tests. The hosts looked clueless as he finished things off with 2 back-to-back wickets and ended with figures of 7/61. It is now the best bowling figures by an Indian bowler in South Africa. The record was previously held by Harbhajan Singh, who claimed 7 wickets for 120 runs 10 years ago.
Shardul Thakur was to date called the man with the golden arm and he is now turning out to be a captain's dream.
Also read: 'Dravid will have to make harsh decisions': Dinesh Karthik on Pujara & Rahane's poor form