Washington Sundar picked up four wickets in second innings.
India’s all-rounder, Washington Sundar, boldly predicted that India would surely win the Lord’s Test just after lunch. “Definitely India winning tomorrow, probably in the first session,” he said during an interview with Sky Sports. However, it eventually went wrong as the visitors suffered a heartbreaking 22-run defeat in a cliffhanger clash at the iconic Lord’s Stadium on Monday.
The Shubman Gill-led side looked like strong contenders to win till the tea break on the fourth day. However, what followed was pure Test cricket with both teams showing immense grit, resilience and discipline, but it was England that eventually dominated the final day and emerged triumphant. As a result, England took a 2-1 lead in the series with two matches remaining in the series.
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However, it did not sit well with England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler. Dissecting Sundar’s claim, Buttler felt that his comments played a key role in motivating England on Day 5.
“Has he actually said that? Washington Sundar’s interview where he says about, you know, when India win tomorrow, when we go 2-1 up. And I thought, I wonder if he’s just sort of, you know, got his words out wrong, you know, hopefully we’ll win. But it was the proper, you know, incredible confidence. Yeah, we’re going to win. And it’s always one of those moments where you’re like, you don’t miss a thing, do you, in this day and age? Someone will have heard about that in the dressing room. It’s almost like instead of anyone having to say anything this morning for England, you could have just played that interview and that would have got people so fired up,” he said, while speaking on a YouTube show ‘For The Love Of Cricket’ hosted by former pacer Stuart Broad.
Buttler explicitly observed head coach Brendon McCullum’s rare gesture. He believes that McCullum must have used his clip to create some energy among the team.
“There’s a little clip of when Washington came out to bat and McCullum over the balcony, sort of, you know, telling everyone to raise it, it’s the guy who’s been chirping. “You set yourself up, don’t you? It’s horrible. But you’re like, no, everyone’s all over me. I could have just come out here and tried to, you know, have a good game and try my best. But now everyone knows what I’ve said in the media last night, and this is going to be, everyone’s after me. Even McCullum, who’s possibly the only time he didn’t have his feet up. He’s leaned forward to say, Come on. Let’s ramp it up for this guy,” he observed.
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This is Washington Sundar’s first tour to England with the Indian team. While he made a crucial contribution in the second Test with the bat, the southpaw made a huge impact with the ball in hand in the second innings. He picked four wickets in the second innings, conceding just 22 runs. However, couldn’t add any runs in his tally in the second innings after scoring 23 in the first.
Sundar came out in the middle when the visitors needed a partnership with Ravindra Jadeja. But was dismissed on a four-ball duck, courtesy of an exceptional catch in follow-through by Jofra Archer, with India at 82/7 in chase of 193. Jadeja remained unbeaten at 61 off 181 balls, but the support from tailenders Jasprit Bumrah (5 off 54 balls), Mohammed Siraj (4 off 30 balls) proved to be not enough.
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