Last Updated:
Washington Sundar produced an outstanding performance with the ball in what is his first Test in over three years.
Washington Sundar took seven wickets. (BCCI Photo)
Allrounder Washington Sundar had a day to remember in Pune. Playing in his first Test since 2021, the bowling allrounder produced a stellar show to help India bowl out New Zealand on 259 on the opening day of the second Test that got underway on Thursday. Sundar finished with career-best bowling figures of 7/59.
New Zealand, who lead the three-match series 1-0, were in a strong position after opting to bat first at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Fifties from Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra took them to 197/3 at one stage with all three wickets taken by Ravichandran Ashwin.
Sundar then triggered a batting collapse with New Zealand losing their next seven wickets for the addition of just 62 runs. The 25-year-old thus engineered a complete turnaround to his day that began with questions over his inclusion in the playing XI in place of Kuldeep Yadav as India were accused of panicking for making three changes for the second Test.
“Honestly, whatever happened today is a pure dream-come-true moment for me. Living the dream is an unbelievable feeling. I actually manifested this to happen in this particular series for a good couple of weeks, so the way it came through. Really grateful to the coach and the captain, unbelievable feeling,” Sundar said on JioCinema.
Sundar partnered with his senior India teammate and fellow offspinner Ashwin to share 10 wickets as he revealed how the latter’s inputs before the tea break helped him.
“It was amazing, honestly. We had a lot of communication going. We were very curious to see what the wicket had to offer from the beginning. Ashwin asked me to try a couple of things that worked well, especially in the spell before tea. I’m really grateful for his advice,” Sundar said.
Sundar first got rid of the well-set Conway with a peach of Rachin with a peach of a delivery that drew the New Zealand batter forward before the ball turned sharpy to sneak past the edge and crash onto the stumps. The deliveries that got rid of Tom Blundell, Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner also stood out.
“I try and work on different wrist positions, and that really helped me today.,” Sundar explained. “Especially around tea, the ball got soft, and it wasn’t ideal for me to keep bowling at a good pace. I had to vary my deliveries, and the balls that I actually varied were the ones that got me the important wickets.”
“My plan was to be accurate and consistently hit the right areas, expecting there would be something in the wicket to offer. After lunch, I varied my pace a bit more but always aimed for accuracy without giving anything easy to the batters,” he added.
