Washington Sundar bags 7 on return to Test cricket after 3 years
The second Test match of the series is being played between India and New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium in Pune. On the first day of this match, the 25-year-old star Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar created a stir. The Kiwi batsmen were finding it difficult to stand at the crease in front of this young player who returned to the Test team after more than three years. By taking seven wickets one after the other in the first innings, he made the biggest contribution in bowling out the visiting team for 259 runs.
The New Zealand team was moving towards a big score by scoring 197 runs for three wickets at one stage, but in front of Sundar’s spin, it lost seven wickets within 62 runs. Proving the decision to include him in the team in place of Kuldeep right, Sundar got the first success by dismissing the last match’s centurion Rachin Ravindra in his 14th over. After this, he did not stop and finished New Zealand’s innings by taking the remaining 6 wickets one after the other. Washington’s senior Ravichandran Ashwin claimed the remaining 3 wickets. This is Sundar’s first Test match after 2021 where he was part of the historic win in Gabba.
Got a chance in place of Kuldeep
Sundar, who replaced Kuldeep Yadav in the team, bowled brilliantly. Earlier, he had six wickets in four Tests. For India, experienced Ravichandran Ashwin took the initial three wickets for 64 runs. This is the first time on Indian soil that all 10 wickets in a Test match have been taken by right-handed off-spinners.
Day 1 summary
With the brilliant off-spin bowling of all-rounder Washington Sundar (7 wickets for 59 runs), India scored 16 runs for one wicket till stumps after bundling out New Zealand’s first innings for 259 runs in the opening Test of the three-match series. At the end of the day’s play, Shubman Gill was unbeaten on 10 and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was unbeaten on 6 runs at the crease. Tim Southee bowled out Indian captain Rohit Sharma in his second over without opening the account.