The left-handed all-rounder held fort with a gritty 48 on Day 3.
Washington Sundar was in the middle of it all. The pitch had everything in it for the batter. In the words of Kuldeep Yadav, it was a road, as compared to the pitch in the first Test in Kolkata. And things were going well for India in the first innings, except the fact that they were almost 380 runs behind South Africa’s total. Then came a spell from Marco Jansen, and all hell broke loose.
The Indian all-rounder scored a disciplined 48, only to be dismissed by Simon Harmer in the slips. Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav stuck around for the eighth wicket, adding 72 runs to India’s total which was vital to their survival. All said and done, the Indians are still way behind in the game, with the Proteas opting to come out to bat, instead of handing the hosts a follow-on.
The all-rounder from Tamil Nadu spoke about India’s plans and also mentioned how the execution did not go their way, despite their plans being in place. Skipper Rishabh Pant received a lot of criticism for the way he was dismissed, with the fans and experts feeling that the Indian skipper should have taken a lot more responsibility for the side.
However, Washington Sundar backed his skipper, stating that it was just how he plays his game every time. Rishabh Pant has given India a lot of match-winning performances, but has also been dismissed to deliveries and situations where his shot-making skills have been highly questioned.
“On another day, the ball would have gone into the stands and we all would have appreciated and clapped. That’s how it is. Sometimes, you just got to back their plans and skill sets”, said Washington Sundar about Rishabh Pant’s dismissal.
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There is absolutely no doubt about the fact that Washington Sundar is a very capable batter who can be relied upon in crunch situations. The 26-year-old has constantly proved through his all-round performances that he can have a crack at the opposition. India’s first innings in the second Test was proof enough about the all-rounder’s batting technique.
That being said, what has been extremely difficult for him is the constant chopping and changing of players up and down the batting order. Washington Sundar was slotted at No.3 in the Test at Kolkata in the absence of Sai Sudharsan (who was benched). Suddenly, Sudharsan comes back into the XI, and the all-rounder is pushed to No.8.
This constant chopping and changing in the batting order leaves the players with a bitter taste in the mouth, with a lot of uncertainty. Furthermore, the No.3 spot is not something teams generally like to experiment with, considering how important it holds for the team’s chances. But India under Gautam Gambhir have not given a three-match run to the same batter on 18 out of the 19 occasions since 2024, which will be a huge concern.
Upon being asked about the same, Washington Sundar mentioned that he was happy to bat and contribute at whatever position he was asked to. He also spoke about the Guwahati wicket, expressing that the deck was quite good for batting. The fact being, batters need to spend time out in the middle to be able to extract runs – something that the Indians failed to execute.
“I would say I am the happiest to bat wherever the team wants me to bat. This is a team game. We got to stay positive in life. We never know what could happen”, said Washington Sundar in the interview.
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