Friday happened to be a dream day for debutants Washington Sundar and T. Natarajan, two players who were not originally in the squad and staying back just as net bowlers.
At stumps on day one, the duo from Tamil Nadu picked up three of the five wickets India took, with Washington getting the key wicket of Steve Smith.
“It was a dream come true for me. I have to thank the management for asking me to stay through the Test series because I felt I can improve on my skill level both in batting and bowling by being here. Yes, there was little nervousness but, it is an amazing opportunity to represent your country,” said Washington.
The all-rounder, known more for his exploits with the white ball in the T20 format, last played a First Class game in 2017 for Tamil Nadu. When asked about if he had to change his preparation for the longer format, the 21-year-old said, “I have always felt my skill level is good with the red ball and I have bowled a lot of overs in First Class and First Division league in Chennai.”
Waiting for it
“So I was waiting for the opportunity. The last few months here, I did get to bowl a lot of balls and got a chance to improve my skill levels here. So it was just more to do with quantity and, I didn’t have to change anything technically,” said the 21-year-old.
The youngster also said that he had spoken to senior-pro R. Ashwin on how to tackle Steve Smith and was glad he could take the important wicket.
“Yes, we had some plans for Smith but, I had to bowl good balls over and over again to get him out. I am glad that I got him and being my first wicket, it felt very good.”
Washington was pleased for fellow-debutant Natarajan who helped India get back into the game with his twin strikes in the last session.
“Nattu (Natarajan) bowled well. He brought us back in the game. (Matthew) Wade and Marnus (Labuschagne) had a 120 odd-run partnership (sic 113) and, he took both of them out. It feels good to make my debut alongside him,” he added.