Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding believes Shardul Thakur is not a wicket-taker like Jasprit Bumrah on the pitch like in The Oval Test. India and England are involved in the fourth Test of the five-match series at The Oval, where the pitch is unlike any other English pitch.

Shardul Thakur played in the opening Test of the series at Trent Bridge before being injured to miss the following two games. He made a comeback in the fourth Test and showcased his skills with the bat in the first innings. He dragged India from 127/7 to 191 all-out with his sparkling half-century.

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Thakur smashed England bowlers in all corners of the ground and raced to a 31-ball fifty. In the process, he broke Ian Botham’s record of the fastest Test fifty in Tests in England.

However, he wasn’t as potent with the ball when England turned up to bat. He bowled over after over but didn’t look threatening and conceded boundaries regularly.

Michael Holding believes Shardul Thakur is not that type of bowler like Jasprit Bumrah or Umesh Yadav, who can extract assistance from any pitch.

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“What disappointed me after the first hour was the fact that they didn’t have anyone to continue the pressure – Thakur came in and bowled but he’s not the type that is going to get wickets like Bumrah and Yadav. There just wasn’t anything there and he’s just not going to be very effective under these conditions,” Holding said on Sky Sports.

Thakur did manage to take a wicket in the first innings. He dismissed Ollie Pope, who was batting on 81 when he dragged the ball back onto his stumps.

On the match’s front, India gained a 171-run lead by the stumps of day three. Rohit Sharma scored a sensational hundred while Cheteshwar Pujara scored another fifty in the second innings. India finished the day at 270/3 with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle.