India vs Afghanistan, World Cup 2023: 'Golden arm' Shardul Thakur justifies his selection as fans praise the all-rounder

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Shardul Thakar was trending on Twitter on Wednesday as the pace all-rounder found a spot in the playing 11 in place of spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as India took on Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup 2023 pool stage match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Some questioned Shardul Thakur's selection as tinkering with the playing 11 after an emphatic win against Australia was deemed unnecessary. However, the pace-bowling all-rounder made his presence count with a brilliant catch at the boundary followed by a wicket in the very next over.

His efforts saw Afghanistan lose momentum and fall into a precarious situation from 63/1 to 63/3. Fans took to X, formerly Twitter, and appreciated the all-rounder for making an impact when nobody expected him to arrive on the occasion.

Prior to Shardul Thakur's impact, Afghanistan were threatening to lay a strong foundation for a strong total as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rahmat Shah were building a good partnership for the second wicket while scoring at a good run rate of close to six.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was batting at 21 and carries the reputation of a pinch-hitter, fell for a trap set by Hardik Pandya, who bowled it quick and short for Gurbaz to react with a hook shot.

He ended up mistiming the ball to Shardul at fine leg, who had to adjust his position well on the boundary to ensure he completed the catch legally before coming back from the boundary line to complete a stunning catch.

While the celebration among fans were yet to be over as they were in awe of the effort in a big tournament like the ICC World Cup 2023, Shardul Thakur was asked to bowl the next over and he sent Rahmat Shah (16) packing by trapping him lbw.

At the time of writing, Afghanistan managed to pull themselves out of trouble once again as skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai took the Afghanistan total to 147 by the end of 30th over while not losing any further wickets.