Shardul Thakur glares at Moises Henriques angrily after dismissal in 3rd ODI; watch video

India beat Australia by 13 runs in the third and final ODI of the series and managed to save their pride by avoiding a humiliating whitewash Down Under. Coming into this game, both sides made three changes to their side from the previous game. For India, it was Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur and debutant T Natarajan who replaced Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami and Navdeep Saini for the India vs Australia 3rd ODI.

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India vs Australia 3rd ODI: Shardul Thakur gives fiery send off to Moises Henriques

India posted a competitive total of 302/5 riding on the back of a 76-ball 92 by Hardik Pandya and 50-ball 66 by Ravindra Jadeja. It was now up to Indian bowlers to restrict the Australian batsmen, who had been in stunning form in the series. Thakur, who was playing the first match of the series, rose to the occasion and delivered by picking three wickets - Steve Smith, Moises Henriques and Sean Abbott.

The right-arm pacer also brought in the much-needed aggression in the series by giving a fiery send-off to Henriques after getting him caught at short mid-wicket for 22 (31). Thakur bowled a short ball which Henriques pulled but failed to get hold of it and holed out to Shikhar Dhawan at short midwicket. Thakur was pumped after dismissing Henriques as he let out a roar and stared in anger at the Australian while he was walking back to the pavillion.

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Thakur's aggressive send-off to Henriques was loved by the Twitterati as they lauded the Chennai IPL pacer's intensity. The Indian pacer's fiery celebration comes just days after former England captain Michael Vaughan had said that the series between the two cricketing giants was being played in a way too friendly manner.

While speaking on Cricbuzz, Vaughan said that this is a different era of the game. He added if you look back 10, 15, 20 years ago, the Australians were pretty much in everyone’s faces with words and body language. Vaughan reckoned that the Aussies didn't go over the top but it was the way they used to play the game.

However, Vaughan stated that now the players are generally teammates. The 46-year old opined that most of the players from the Australian team are teammates with the Indian players through the IPL franchises which he said has made a massive difference in the world game. 

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According to Vaughan, it has become a little bit more hostile to oppose international players because if they’re not teammates, one of their teammates is a teammate with the opposing side. Vaughan reiterated that he likes a bit of confrontation on the pitch. The England veteran was hopeful that they’re not going to go for an era where it becomes friendly and everyone’s patting each other on the back.

Meanwhile, the India vs Australia 2020 tour now moves on to the three-match T20I series. The India vs Australia 1st T20I will be played on Friday, December 4 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. The live streaming of the India vs Australia 1st T20I will commence at 1:40 PM (IST).

Shardul Thakur career stats

Shardul Thakur career stats include the 12 ODIs and 14 T20Is that he has played since making his debut in 2017. In ODIs, Thakur has picked 15 wickets whereas he has 21 wickets to his name in T20Is. The Mumbai-based cricketer has also represented India in one Test match against West Indies in 2018.

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SOURCE: FOX CRICKET TWITTER