 "Washington Sundar denies talk of a divide in Indian dressing room, looks forward to 'great opportunity' at MCG")
Team India were staring at the prospect of having to follow on in the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne after throwing away an advantageous position with yet another batting collapse. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli were making merry with their third-wicket partnership that was worth more than a hundred runs when the former was run-out in the most unfortunate manner possible – finding himself stranded at the non-striker’s end with Virat Kohli following a huge mix-up.
Kohli would join Jaiswal in the dressing room shortly after, once again falling prey to a delivery outside the off stump. And the move to send Akash Deep to the centre as the nightwatchman didn’t work either as the pacer was caught by Nathan Lyon off Scott Boland’s bowling.
Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were batting on 6 and 4 respectively at the close of play, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar to follow. And Sundar, for one, is ready to give whatever it takes to ensure his team not only avoid the follow-on on Day 3, but narrow the deficit as much as possible.
“Isn’t it amazing that the team wants me to do really well in all three aspects of the game. That’s a great opportunity for me,” Sundar said when asked how he trains his mind to adjust to a very different expectation from the team management.
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More Shorts“It will be very important to do whatever the team requires. No matter which situation of the game I get to be in, it’s just about being out there, putting in the right energy and getting things done for the team,” added Sundar, who was included in the lineup as a replacement for No 3 batter Shubman Gill in order to allow skipper Rohit Sharma to return to the top of the order.
Sundar, who was part of the Ajinkya Rahane-led side that triumphed over Australia 2-1 the last time India played a Test series Down Under, added that they still could make things tough for the Aussies from here on despite their late collapse on Day 2.
“We were in a great position to get big runs but we will still come back and continue to fight tomorrow morning.”
Sundar denies talk of a dressing room divide
The 25-year-old also handled the tricky questions well, including one on the “atmosphere” within the dressing room amid rumours of a possible rift.
“Definitely, the energy is very good in the dressing room, we are all positive. There is a long time in the game as well, so there is still three days, lot of overs to play, so it will just be about us trying to fight really hard and get things done for the team.”
Sundar added that while the wicket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was a bit on the softer side on Day 1, it has gradually become better to bat on.
“It was a little soft yesterday, because obviously the sun didn’t come out the whole day yesterday. The wicket also started to play a lot better (today) and we batted really well. I guess tomorrow and the day after as well, it will be a good surface to bat on. The wicket won’t change much. So it will be exciting couple of days.”
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