Nidahas Trophy | Being a batsman helps me understand what player is thinking, says Washington Sundar

03/15/2018

Washington Sundar has revealed that being a batsman, he is now able to read batsman's mind and what he is trying to do on a particular delivery. The off-spinning all-rounder has also said that he is lucky to be blessed with the ability of bowling in the powerplay overs and taking wickets as well.

Sundar brilliantly utilized the given opportunity in his favor and cemented his place in the Indian cricket team in the ongoing Nidahas Trophy where he continued to deliver a phenomenal performance in the powerplay against Bangladesh yesterday. The 18-year-old displayed his skill yet again as he bagged three wickets and conceded only 22 runs which helped Team India register a 17-run win in the last league game against Bangladesh and secure a berth in the final of the tri-series. The all-rounder seemed happy with his performance and he disclosed the reason behind his success.

“I have to admit I am fortunate to have this skill (bowling in powerplay). It is more of reading the batsmen’s mind in the powerplays,” Sundar said after the end of the match, as quoted by Hindustan Times.

“Every six balls, they will be looking to hit you at least for a four and six. It is important to read the mind. I myself am a batsman to an extent; I can suspect what he is thinking and where he is going to hit me.”

In the fifth T20I of the series, Sundar claimed the scalps of Tamim Iqbal (27), Liton Das (7), and Soumya Sarkar (1) which left the Bangladesh team in a precarious situation early on. Later in the innings, Mushfiqur Rahim tried to take the Bangla Tigers into the game but all the effort went in vain and Mahmudullah’s side suffered their seventh-straight T20I loss against India.

Along with Sundar, it was Yuzvendra Chahal who played an important role and managed to take the wicket of Bangladesh’s skipper when he was playing at 11. Chahal returned with 1/21 which meant that the Indian spinners conceded just 43 runs in eight overs.

“It was important for me and Yuzvendra Chahal to bowl well. Our eight overs were very important. I thought I should keep things tight,” Sundar said.

During the 2017 IPL, after Ravichandran Ashwin was ruled out from the league due to a sports hernia, Rising Pune Supergiant gave the Sundar the opportunity to prove his worth to the team. In the trials conducted by the club, Sundar bowled to Steve Smith and Ben Stokes and even managed to get the wicket of the former once. Sundar credited league cricket for his successful bowling display in the powerplay and he added that it also helped him immensely to face tough situations.

“I play a lot of league games back home. Couple of years back, we played a tournament. I used to bowl two in the powerplay and two in the death overs which was difficult. These things helped me to get better as a cricketer. You want to keep facing those challenges and overcome,” Sundar said.

After delivering a tremendous performance against Bangladesh, Sundar currently leads the chart of the top wicket-taker in the Nidahas Trophy with seven wickets and an impressive economy rate of 5.87. The 18-year-old has shown confidence to continue the momentum in the final of the series which will be played on March 18 in Colombo.

“It is a very good feeling when you bowl under 6 every game. Both the teams are pretty If I can play to my potential or strength, then we can win the tournament.”

Nidahas Trophy | Being a batsman helps me understand what player is thinking, says Washington Sundar

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