Shardul Thakur, who on Thursday pipped Ian Botham’s record by hitting the fastest Test fifty on English soil, feels that when one is entrusted with responsibility, he has to “perform by hook or by crook.” Shardul hit his second Test half-century off 31 balls and beat Ian Botham’s 35-year-old record as he helped India’s total attain a semblance of respectability.

 “You have to take responsibility whether you are a pacer or a batter. Whenever you get a chance, you have to shoulder responsibility by hook or by crook,” Shardul said after day’s play when asked if the assignment of scoring runs every time adds to the pressure.