Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Washington Sundar for scoring a crucial knock in the second innings of the fifth Test match against England at Kennington Oval. Sundar scored 53 runs off just 46 balls and added vital runs down the order.
The left-hander scored four fours and as many sixes in his blistering knock. England bowlers came up with a ploy of bowling short at Sundar but the southpaw was up to the mark with his pull shot.
Sundar and Prasidh Krishna added 39 runs, which is the highest for India in their Test history, where a batter didn’t score a single run.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “He took full advantage of England’s short-ball tactics. That is the right way to bat with the tail. When you are eight or nine wickets down, you have to shift into an aggressive mode. You may not go after every ball, but you have to show intent. Otherwise, you will not get runs. Those last 50 or so runs at the end could prove to be absolutely crucial. When we look back tomorrow, we will realise how important they were, not just for the scoreboard but also for the team’s morale. Crossing the 375 mark was vital, and those final runs were Washington Sundar’s contribution.”
“Just look at his (Washi) batting average, it is solid. Ever since he came into the team, he has impressed and consistently scored crucial runs. In the last match, he saved the game with a century. This time, he was backed again and played at different positions in the order. That shows how mentally strong he is as a batter,” he added.
Pathan said Sundar has grabbed his opportunities with both hands on the England tour as he has delivered with both bat and ball.
Pathan concluded, “Whatever responsibility he has been given, he has taken it on. In the previous Test, he defended up the order. Here, when he had to come in and hit big shots at the end, he took that on his shoulders as well. On the fifth ball of the over, he smartly took a single to rotate strike, planning for the next over. He expected the last batter, Prasidh Krishna, to survive one ball so that he could get back on strike and go for the big shots again. So the way he played combined both smart cricket and power hitting. It was a complete effort.”
At lunch on day four, England were 164-3.
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