WTC Final: Shardul Thakur wants to make 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity

Hoping to represent India in redball cricket for just the ninth time India pacer Shardul Thakur is hoping to make the onceinalifetime opportunity count in the ICC World Test Championship WTC Final help his country claim its maiden titleThough the 31yearold pacer from Mumbai is hoping to make just his ninth appearance in Test cricket in the WTC Final against Australia starting at The Oval on WednesdayThakur told the ICC that he is determined to make every opportunity count in an Indian jersey with the chance to be selected in an ICC Final representing a onceinalifetime moment for himI feel that ICC event finals especially you dont get to play them everywhere every year so its for a few players or somebody like me a onceinalifetime mment Thakur was quoted as saying by ICCAll that I want is to make it count Its always a special moment when youre representing your country especially India when there are a billion people out there who dream of playing for the nation and only the best 15 have been chosen to represent the countryEspecially being involved in this Final from 7 June onwards in England for the World Test Championship it feels really special ImhonouredAlso Read WTC final Injury scare for India as skipper Rohit Sharma hit on left thumb during practiceThakur is banking on his experience of playing in England as three of his appearances have come there Thakur has claimed eight wickets in these matches and had also struck two halfcenturies in the last series India played in that countryIt was at The Oval the venue for the WTC Final starting on Wednesday where Thakur came up with one of his best Test performances Coming in with India in trouble in the first innings he struck a counterattacking 36ball 57 before contributing to a heavy lowerorder total in the second innings with his excellent 60He contributed with the ball too troubling Englands top order throughout and dismissing Ollie Pope Rory Burns and Joe RootIts always good to remember your previous performances on a particular ground but every gameis a fresh start he said when asked about that Oval displayIts different opponents this time around but yeah its always good to take motivation from what youve done in the past on particular groundThough India will finalise their playing XI only a few hours before the toss for the WTC Final Thakur will be in contention to play as the third quick due to his ability to move the ball and provide runs down the order and he could also be part of a potential fourpronged seam attack should India opt against playing both of their spinnersThakur will be particularly useful if there are any overcast periods during the match as there could be rain on Saturday Sunday and Monday the scheduled fourth fifth and reserve daysI think England is challenging because the wether here is a bit funny Thakur said When the suns out it is good for batting when its overcast its good for bowling so the toss hardly matters its all about the cloud cover said ThakurObviously the pitch also plays an important role but weve seen in the past that whenever theres cloud cover the ball suddenly starts swinging and you cant really predict how much the ball is going to move so thats one of the biggest challenges that a batter faces he saidWhen its not swinging Englands also got the best pitches to bat on so it becomes equally tough for bowlers Even in the helpful conditions its sort of important to find the right length to nick a batter off or hit his pads so this isa country thats challenging he addedWhether he gets a chance to play or not the experience of being part of a World Test Championship WTC Final will boost Shardul Thakurs confidence to try and cement his place in the playing XIThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever