The ball landed around off stump. It drew Tom Latham forward, as he looked to defend it. The New Zealand captain played for the angle, but the ball straightened after pitching. It went past the outside edge and hit the off stump. It was a jaffa, a delivery that probably would have gotten any left-hand batter out. Washington Sundar, supposedly a part-time offie, had every reason to rejoice at the dismissal.
Rachin Ravindra’s scalp came via another beauty. Washington delivered from wide of the crease, drew the batsman forward, and the ball turned just enough to go past the outside edge and disturb the timber.
On paper, Ravichandran Ashwin, a great in his own right, is India’s premier off-spinner. But Washington has become the lead performer in the ongoing series, with 15 wickets already in his bag from three innings. Ashwin, in comparison, has just six wickets to show for his efforts. He went wicketless in the first innings of the third Test on a Wankhede turner.
Washington wasn’t supposed to be playing in this series. He wasn’t in the original squad and was plying his trade for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy. He was drafted into the squad as an additional member before the second Test, ostensibly as batting cover, as Shubman Gill was recovering from a stiff neck and Rishabh Pant was nursing a sore knee. The 25-year-old returned to the Test fold after a gap of three-and-a-half years and claimed a seven-for in Pune. “It was all God’s plan,” he told reporters after that. Maybe, it’s “God’s plan” that belatedly, after several hiccups, Washington’s fledgling Test career will get a major boost.
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“He (Washington) is going to be one of India’s leading all-rounders,” Ravi Shastri told ESPNcricinfo back in 2022. “He is the future. You have (Ravindra) Jadeja today. Three years down the line, if Jadeja is still fit, he will play. There is Axar (Patel) around. But this guy is your premier all-rounder across all three formats of the game. Hear what I am saying. Three formats of the game.”
Washington was fresh from a match-winning partnership with Rishabh Pant against Australia at the Gabba followed by another one against England in Ahmedabad. The youngster had a solid platform to build on, but things didn’t go to plan. His career would retreat to the mundane surroundings of domestic cricket. Injuries played a part. But more than that, Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, and occasionally Axar, were so dominant in the home series that Washington’s services were not required.
The Indian team management rated him, but there was no vacancy. Washington has always been a very capable batsman, but as an off-spinner, he struggled to turn the ball. Bowling flatter and quicker through the air had been deterrents to imparting turn. The current series has witnessed a change. He is not ambling in his run-up. He is varying his pace and bowling a lot more over-spinners.
Washington has done his job as a bowler. On Saturday, on the second day of the final Test, he will have to stand up and be counted as a batsman. A couple of brain-fade moments towards the fag end of the first day have put India under serious pressure and the hosts will have to atone for it on Day 2, as they seek to avoid a home series whitewash. Washington has the ability to perform under pressure and he will have to contribute with the bat.
Coming back to his bowling, on a turning pitch, he once again out-bowled Ashwin, returning with 4/81 from 18.4 overs in New Zealand’s first innings. Ashwin, on the other hand, got 14 overs. The transition has probably begun in earnest.