'He is the magician' - Rohit Sharma lauds Shardul Thakur after match-winning effort against New Zealand

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was extremely delighted after India’s epic series victory over New Zealand and termed Player of the Match Shardul Thakur a "magician". Thakur has been a key bowler for India and has a knack of providing wickets at crucial intervals. He did the same against New Zealand in Indore as he scalped three crucial wickets to change the tide of the game. 

The third and final ODI in Indore was a high-scoring one and saw over 670 runs runs scored by both teams combined. However, India eventually claimed a 90-run victory over the visitors to clinch the series 3-0. Centuries from Shubman Gill and skipper Rohit gave India a solid start before Hardik Pandya (54 off 38) and Thakur finished things off well. 

Speaking at the post match presentation, Rohit praised the team’s performance and had special compliments for Shardul, who picked three wickets with the ball after scoring 25 off 17. 

"In the last six games we've done most things right in ODIs. We're consistent in our approach with the bat and ball. Without Siraj and Shami we wanted to give opportunities to other guys on the bench. We wanted to bring Chahal and Umran in the mix, put them under pressure. We had runs on the board, but on this kind of ground no total is safe. We stuck to the plans, held our nerves. Shardul has been doing this for a while, so some people call him 'Magician'," said Rohit.

Notably, India have had a great start to their home season, having clean sweept both Sri Lanka and New Zealand in the ODI series. They will now face New Zealand in a three-match T20I series but it would be a much changed squad as compared to the ODI squad as the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Siraj, Mohammad Shami have been rested.

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