Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar is having a wonderful time in red-ball cricket. He featured in the playing XI when Team India faced Australia in the fourth Test at Gabba and hasn’t looked behind since then.
In the recently concluded four-match series against England at home, Washington impressed one and all, with his batting. In the fourth Test, which the hosts won by an innings and 25 runs, the southpaw almost scored his maiden hundred, but he was left stranded on 96*as Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj were dismissed for ducks.
The Tamil Nadu cricketer showed immense determination on Day 3 of the final Test. He was involved in two century-stands, first with Rishabh Pant, who scored a scintillating hundred, and then with Axar Patel. Many prominent cricketers, former internationals and experts of the game expressed that Washington deserved the three-figure mark.
Even Washington’s father couldn’t stop himself from articulating his disappointment on his son missing out a Test century because Ishant and Siraj failed to support Washington when he was just four runs away from the magical number.
“I don’t understand why people are surprised at his batting. I have been hearing. He can face the new ball. But we are ready for whatever the Indian team asks him to do,” said M Sundar as quoted by News 18.
Washington’s father criticised the tailenders and opined that if India needed 10 runs to win in a situation like that, it would have been a huge mistake.
“What I am really disappointed about are the tailenders. They couldn’t stay on for even a brief while. Suppose India were playing, needing 10 runs to win, wouldn’t this have been a huge mistake. There are millions of youngsters watching; they shouldn’t learn what the tailenders did,” he added.
“It is not about technique or skills. It was a matter of courage. England were tired; Stokes was bowling at 123-126. They were not bowling at lethal pace,” Mr Sundar added further.
