There was one bowler, who was playing his third Test and had become the leader of the attack and the other was playing his second and had bowled just 10 balls in his first before getting injured and both of them were on the brink of getting their maiden five-wicket hauls in front of the Gabba crowd againt the host Australian team.
However, the new leader, Mohammed Siraj got the wicket, and Shardul took the catch. Siraj's face and expression told the story what it meant to him and the way skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul himself clapped and cheered for him when they were walking off the field told what that meant for the whole side, which has been put through various challenges and obstacles throughout this four-match Test series.
Siraj bowled a shot ball, which Josh Hazlewood bent and hit it towards the third man fielder, but couldn't get over him and it went straight into the hands of Shardul Thakur, standing at that position. While Siraj finished with figures of 5/73, Thakur finished with 4/61 taking his match figures to 7 wickets.
Siraj didn't hold up his emotions as he held the red ball in the air when he was given the ball by the skipper and led the team off the field, after which he hugged Jasprit Bumrah in the dugout. The nine wickets between the duo helped the visitors bowl out the Aussies for 294 as they set a target of 328 runs for India to chase in the final game of the series at the Gabba.
Later, Thakur was seen beaming and delighted for his bowling partner as he was so happy for his mate as he got his first fifer in Test matches, only in his third game in the format.
The expressions of Thakur and his appreciation for his fellow paceman won the hearts of many fans as users on Twitter couldn't stop themselves from applauding Thakur as they suggested that he could easily have been sad for missing his fifer or envy could have crept in seeing the other bowler get to his milestone while he missed out, but there was nothing of that sort as Shardul was just ecstatic to see his partner get to his maiden five-wicket haul against a team like Australia on their home soil.
Here are some of the reactions:
