Subhayan Chakraborty in Pune
Washington Sundar ran through New Zealand batting, registering his career-best figures of 7/59 on Day 1 of the second Test, as the visitors were bundled out for 259. Following a surprise call-up to the Indian squad after the Kiwis won the Bengaluru Test, Washington spun a web around the opposition, justifying what was a high-risk selection call by the Indian team management.
“Everything that happened today was pleasing, right from the start. Going to play this game, getting to come back to the Test squad, getting to play in the XI. There are a lot of things which mean a lot to me and are very special,” Washington told reporters after the day’s play.
He went on: “I will never forget this day; it’s very special. But yeah, it was a great opportunity for me to play for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy game because it’s good to be playing red-ball cricket every now and then and keep getting the rhythm in red ball, both with the bat and ball, and to be consistent.”
Sundar was playing a Ranji Trophy match for Tamil Nadu against Delhi when he learned about his call-up to the Indian Test squad for the last two matches against New Zealand. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder had scored a brilliant 152, while also picking up six wickets in the game. When asked about the last few days and his game plan on Thursday, the 25-year-old said: “Honestly, it’s all God’s plan. I just wanted to really focus on every ball and give my 100 per cent every single ball right from the start of the day. I really wanted to keep things tight, and I was able to.”
He added: “There was some help in the morning as well in the first session. I didn’t try to change too many things. Yes, I tried to vary my pace a little bit, but I really wanted to be consistent in hitting the line.”
On Tuesday, two days before the start of the Pune Test, Washington spent around a couple of hours bowling in tandem with Ravichandran Ashwin at the nets. Interestingly, his 7/59 are also Ashwin’s career-best figures in the longer format, and both came against New Zealand. When asked about Ashwin’s influence and his inputs on preparing for the game, Washington lavished praise on his senior.
“We had a lot of discussions going, especially in that particular practice session. I asked him for a few things that I felt might help me get better and eventually be really good with my skill set. He was kind enough to share his experiences, share his knowledge about spin bowling in particular,” Washington said, adding: “We were having a lot of discussions, especially today in particular. We kept talking about what kind of pace is actually helping on the wicket, what kind of things. We kept communicating throughout the day, and definitely, it helps.”
The youngster spoke about the advantage of playing alongside Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. “We have two senior pros (Ashwin and Jadeja) in the team, especially as a two-pronged spin attack. It really helps a lot for someone like me. It’s quite rare, but he’s very kind, especially from that perspective. Not just me, but no matter who goes and asks him for ideas about bowling or any technicalities, he is always there to help everyone. I think that’s a great quality about him. It actually feels special to be playing alongside him in Test matches.”
At the end of Day 1, India were 16/1, trailing by 243 runs.
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