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India surprised by picking Washington Sundar ahead of the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the Perth Test.
(From left) Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin (BCCI Photo)
India will enter the Adelaide Test with the confidence of having thrashed Australia at their stronghold in Perth to kickstart the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 with a massive win. The return of Rohit Sharma will be a happy headache for the team management since they will have to rejig the batting order to accommodate their captain.
While the batting order is all likeliness will undergo a change, the bowling combination, Cheteshwar Pujara advises, should be left undisturbed. And if that requires keeping two stalwarts Ravinchandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja consinged to the benches, then so be it.
The Indian team took an interesting call by not playing either Ashwin or Jadeja, a pair that shares 855 Test wickets between them, in the series opener and instead gave the lone spinner’s spot to Washington Sundar.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were the two experienced pacers in the squad while debutants Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy provided good support.
Bumrah, who was the stand-in captain in Rohit’s absence, took eight wickets in the match while Siraj took five. Rana gave a good account of himself with four wickets and Reddy bowled just seven overs but managed to take a wicket as well.
Sundar bowled just two overs in the first innings but sent down 15 overs in the second and picked up a couple of wickets. Pujara wants India to stick with the same bowling combo for the day-night Test starting that starts from December 6.
“There’s no question about it,” Pujara said on ESPNcricinfo when asked if India should retain the bowling attack for 2nd Test against Australia. “This bowling attack has given us success. Bumrah looked really good, Siraj was very good and it was supported by Harshit. He bowled really well. He was playing his first game still pitching the ball up.”
Pujara praised Rana for holding onto his nerves and not getting carried away by the pace that pitches in Perth offer. “In Australia, it’s very easy to get carried away and sometimes when you look at the pace of the pitch, it offers bit more extra bounce but he (Rana) was still looking to hit the right spot, good length, try and hit the top of off and he has that ability. So I think we should carry on with the same bowling attack,” Pujara said.
Pujara feels India should also stick with Sundar since he offers them the depth in batting department and should they suffer a batting collapse, he can be contribute low down the order.
“I think he (Sundar) didn’t look really good when he started his bowling but eventually, he got a couple of wickets. He varied his pace. So, Washi should be our spinner because he can bat well. The reason he was chosen in this squad is because he can bat. That will be the important part in the second Test match that in case if we lose few wickets early, if lower order needs to contribute, Washington can do that job,” Pujara said.
