Washington Sundar makes a solid comeback to Team India in whites. Sundar took 7-59 in first innings in Pune Test.
Washington Sundar made a fairytale return to Test cricket by producing his best red-ball spell yet on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand at Pune. Playing a Test match after a long gap of 43 months, Sundar demolished the Kiwi middle-order and went home with a maiden Test fifer.
New Zealand threatened to seize the advantage of the best available batting conditions on Day 1. But Sundar’s stunning figures of 7/59 was instrumental in keeping the game in the balance as the visitors were bundled out for 259 in their first innings.
Sundar was India’s X-factor on Day 1
Sundar was not even a part of the squad during the first Test match at Bengaluru and was added to the team prior to the Pune Test. He wasn’t expected to be part of the playing XI or at the least, was touted to be India’s fourth spinner in the Test match.
However, the team management sprung a surprise by naming Sundar in the playing XI ahead of wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. The likely reasoning behind his selection could be the presence of a number of left-handers in New Zealand’s batting line-up.
He started well as a second change bowler ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and kept things tight. The all-rounder bowled some unplayable deliveries which missed the outside edge on occasions. This showed that he was in great rhythm on what was a helpful track for spinners.
New Zealand batters though, were able to make quick runs in the middle session as the conditions eased out a bit. Last match hero for the visitors, Rachin Ravindra, threatened to take the game away from India once again with a 61-run stand with Daryll Mitchell for the fourth wicket. But Sundar had other ideas. In his first ball of a new spell, he castled Ravindra, courtesy of a peach of a delivery.
In his next two overs, the 25-year-old produced two lovely balls to send back the settled Mitchell and keeper Tom Blundell, respectively. These strikes put India on the driving seat. In his subsequent spell, Sundar wiped out the New Zealand lower order, picking seven wickets in total.
The hallmark of Sundar’s efforts was that he got a beautiful drift working for him throughout the innings and his off breaks came out well from the hand. The other feature was that five of his seven wickets were that of New Zealand’s right-handers. Being an off spinner, it is indeed a commendable effort to take these many right-handers’ wickets.
Ashwin’s worthy heir
We have not seen many instances where an India spinner outclassed both Ashwin and Jadeja in a Test innings at home. It is safe to say that Sundar has done that in the Pune Test. He picked seven of the 10 Kiwi wickets to fall, and the opposition didn’t have many answers to Sundar’s spin wizardry.
Is this a sign of things to come and could he be the successor to Ashwin? Well, it is too early to jump into conclusion because Sundar has just played his fifth Test and still has a long way to go before we put him in the same sentence as the legendary off-spinner.
However, the things Washington Sundar could learn from Ashwin, who happens to be the formers’ senior in Tamil Nadu, are endless. The camaraderie these two Tamil Nadu cricketers share, both on and off the field, helps the cause as well.
As of now, India will be hoping that Sundar produces more of such performances and emerges a match-winner much like Ashwin has over the years.
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