Impressive Thakur discovers upgrade at top level

After taking four South African wickets, two in the space of five overs this morning, Shardul Thakur can be forgiven for thinking he had a Midas touch. He had Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla to his name, and wanted to add AB de Villiers to the list.

The first ball he bowled to de Villiers was what Thakur thought was "a good ball." It was in the corridor outside off stump that Thakur had been peppering and on a teasing length which he thought was not short enough for de Villiers to cut. So he was pretty surprised to see de Villiers back away slightly, get under him and square cut him for four. But he was willing to accept that the batsmen may have superior skills.

"I thought it was a good ball and that he had played a very good shot," Thakur said, although he wanted to confirm that at the drinks break when he had the chance to speak to de Villiers. "I went and asked him why he hit that ball for four because I thought it was a good ball." The response sent Thakur crashing back down to earth. "AB said, 'For me, it wasn't a good ball."

If morale could be deflated quicker, it would have to be a popped balloon.

Thakur did not take any more wickets as de Villiers stamped his authority on a day that was slipping away from the South Africans, as the pitch flattened and the spinners came more into play. But 24-year-old Thakur did enough to earn a place at the post-day press conference where the local reporters were talking up his chances of earning a call-up to the national side soon.

He can't afford to think that far. He is not part of the Test squad that features Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav, and has to return to Ranji Trophy action where he is "hopeful of picking up wickets," armed with some new knowledge. Thakur has learnt what it takes to take on the big boys, and concluded that only that was on his mind.

"When you play against quality batsmen, you can't afford to lose your momentum or focus. You have to keep your concentration the same all day," he said. "In Ranji Trophy matches you can sometimes take it easy but against these guys you have to put all your energy in every ball. So that's what I am trying to do."

Even the ball that Thakur thought so highly of which de Villiers dismissed with such disdain, had all his effort behind it and it allowed him to assess how he matches up to the best. "This match was very big for me because I could analyse myself and see: where do I stand?," he said. "It lets me see - given a chance to play against these guys, how would I perform in the future. I got to look at myself and where can I improve."

Now that he knows, Thakur is hoping conditions during the rest of the domestic season will help prove he is ready for the step up. "It depends on the pitches but until there is a rank turner, I don't find anything to stop me from taking wickets."