Washington Sundar displayed a stupendous performance on the first day and led the Indian bowling attack. He picked up seven wickets in his 24-over spell at an economy rate of 2.50
Our Bureau
Pune, MH
Indian spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar expressed delight on his return to Tests after a game-changing seven-wicket haul in the first Test against New Zealand at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Stadium (MCA), saying that his brilliant return to Ranji Trophy perfectly set him up for a Test return as he was in his best rhythm with both bat and ball.
The chatter over Washington’s selection was massive after Indian skipper Rohit Sharma announced three changes to the playing eleven for the Pune Test, picking pacer Akash Deep, a returning Shubhman Gill and Washington in favour of Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav.
While Sundar had hit a marvellous 152 while batting at number three and took six wickets across both innings of his Ranji return against Delhi just days before the Pune Test, there were questions raised about his inclusion in the squad and eventually the playing eleven, with many cricketing experts and fans expressing that spinner Kuldeep Yadav was wronged by being denied to play a Test on a spin-friendly surface and Rohit was being panicky by trying to give his batting some more depth.
The all-rounder put an end to all the noise with a masterclass spell. After Ravichandran Ashwin had taken first three Kiwi wickets, Washington put momentum on India’s side with quick wickets of in-form Rachin Ravindra, who was looking to score big and of wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell. The final session witnessed the young all-rounder running through the entire Kiwi line-up and taking a match-changing seven-wicket haul and triggering a collapse that could become a point of difference within the next two days or so.
Speaking to BCCI, the youngster said that while he was playing white-ball cricket for India consistently, he was manifesting for his Test return since last two months or so.
“I believed I would be getting a call, no matter when. Whenever you get a call to join the Test squad, it is going to be special. When you think about something, wish for something and it happens, it is an unreal feeling. I am grateful to be able to experience those feelings and be back to the Test squad. A seven-for, very very special,” he further added.
Washington said that his seven-wicket haul on return to Test cricket is one of those things he cannot explain in words and credited his Ranji return for helping him make a return in whites for India.
“I have played the Tamil Nadu-Delhi game. It went very well for me. It was a perfect set-up for me to get to this game. The confidence was high and I had hit my best rhythm with both bat and ball,” he added.
Following Washington Sundar’s exceptional performance on Day 1 of the Pune Test against New Zealand, his sister M S Shailaja heaped praise on the off-spinner’s bowling on his return to the longest format of the game after a long gap of 3.5 years.
Washington Sundar displayed a stupendous performance on the first day and led the Indian bowling attack. He picked up seven wickets in his 24-over spell at an economy rate of 2.50.
“It was lovely to watch him play the way he played today and it was indeed a very proud moment for us as a family. To watch him the way he played and took the wickets was phenomenal. He is been doing a great job and we are very happy and proud of him for the way he made his comeback in Tests after 3.5 years. What he did today was top-class,” Shailaja said while speaking to ANI.
M S Shailaja, a professional cricketer who has played across all formats of the game in domestic cricket, started her journey into the game of cricket at around 6 years of age. She has had a long career since her debut for the Tamil Nadu state team way back in 2003, at just 11 years old. She has since then played across various age categories and currently represents the Pondicherry Senior team.
She is a multi-faceted personality, having found her way into the other side of the game as well. She has donned the roles of Expert Analyst and Sports Presenter and recently added a new feather to her cap as an Expert Commentator.
