Harare, July 25 (IANS) Debutant fast bowler Yash Thakur expressed deep gratitude to his family and team management following a successful international debut against Zimbabwe in the second T20I at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday, adding that sticking to the plans made in tandem with skipper Shreyas Iyer paid off.
Thakur claimed his maiden T20I wicket by dismissing the dangerous Brian Bennett for 32, and eventually took 2-30 in his four overs as he helped India defend a massive total of 219/5 and secure a 90-run victory to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
“I’m really grateful to have got the opportunity to play this game. I’m also really grateful to my family and my close ones, who have always supported me. So I’m really grateful for this,” Thakur said at the conclusion of the game.
Elaborating on his tactical discussion with skipper Shreyas Iyer to break Bennett’s opening assault, Thakur said, “I think the wicket was really good to bat on. Me and Shreyas bhai discussed our plans before the spell, and we stuck to them. We felt the slower ball would be a very effective option on this wicket, so we backed it, and it worked for us.”
Thakur, 27, represents Punjab Kings in the IPL and won the Ranji Trophy in 2024/25 with Vidarbha. He has been a regular with the India ‘A’ team for the last 12 months in both red-ball and white-ball formats.
“Last month I was playing in the India A tour of Sri Lanka. I played both the one-day and Test series there. I always keep my plans ready for both white-ball and red-ball cricket,” he said. When asked about his personal preference between formats, Thakur kept it simple. “No, I enjoy both. I just want to play the game.”
–IANS
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