Sai Sudharsan’s Test debut did not go as he or the team would have hoped. Handed a golden opportunity to bat at Numberthree—a position once occupied by the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara—the young left-hander was unable to make the most of it.
Sudharsan had looked confident in the intra-squad match before the Test and had shown he could handle challenging conditions. He came into the series after scoring heavily in the recently concluded IPL. Although a different format, the volume of runs he amassed was enough for the management to believe that Sudharsan would bring plenty of confidence into his Test debut.
Sai Sudharan has seven centuries in his first-class career
He also has valuable experience playing County cricket in England. Given all that, the team management had enough trust to slot him straight into the Number three spot for his very first Test match. To make the moment even more special, Cheteshwar Pujara handed Sudharsan his debut cap before the match began.
However, things changed quickly once he walked out to bat. Sudharsan faced just four deliveries before Ben Stokes set him up cleverly. Stokes bowled one on his pads, and Sudharsan, trying to glance it fine, only managed a faint edge. Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith took the catch with ease. The dismissal left the debutant disappointed, and India were reduced to 92 for 2 at lunch.
Talking about his first-class career, Sudharsan has played 29 matches, scoring 1,957 runs in 49 innings at an average of 39.93. His record includes five fifties and seven centuries, with a highest score of 213.
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