After Sai Sudharsan scored only 15 runs in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati on Monday, Shubman Gill was brought into the picture for no reason. With Shubman Gill out, a lot was riding on Sudharsan at number 3 to hold the Indian bat together after South Africa scored 489 in their first innings.
But Sudharsan could only hit 40 balls in the middle before Ryan Rickelton caught the ball beautifully. Rickelton got it on two tries near the mid-wicket area. When Sudharsan was out, fans didn’t like it. They said the southpaw’s spot in the Test team was due to Gill’s quota. It’s worth noting that both Gill and Sudharsan play for the Gujarat Titans.
Spots are getting more competitive.
With a number of good players waiting in the wings, the team’s management has to make a big decision. Many of India’s Test players are very good, and Sudharsan may need to score a big score soon to keep his spot in the team.
India may not get a Test spot due to Sai Sudharsan’s issues.
Sudharsan’s problems are a part of a bigger trend. He had played three Tests in England before, but in six innings, he had only scored one fifty (61). During the home series against West Indies, he only scored 89 runs in four innings spread across two games. Besides that, he hadn’t scored fifty in two first-class games for India A before this series.
Analysts of cricket and past players say that Sudharsan needs to keep up his good play in local cricket to keep his spot. “Sai is good, but in Tests, timing and patience are very important.” “If he wants to stay in the game, he needs to turn early scores into big scores,” a cricket expert said after the game.
South Africa scored 489 runs in their first innings, with Senuran Muthusamy (109 runs) and Marco Jansen (93 runs) contributing. India still has a long way to go. India’s problems were made worse when Sudharsan was out early. To keep India competitive, experienced hitters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul will need to work together.
Can Sudharsan turn things around?
Sudharsan still has time to change the story, even though it has been criticized. He has the skills because of his style, personality, and success in local cricket. If he plays well in his next game, he could put an end to the questions and get back in the race.
After Sudharsan was out, Marco Jansen’s four-wicket burst at the Barsapara stadium caused the Indian attack to fall apart like a house of cards. The tall and lean South African pacer bowled left-handed and got Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, and Nitish Kumar Reddy out. In just 10 overs, the Indian score went from 96/3 to 122/7.
What Sai Sudharsan has done in Test cricket
The Tamil Nadu player played his first Test match for India earlier this year in England. Since then, Sudharsan has played six Tests and scored only 288 runs, with two scores of fifty or more. Sudharsan scored his first fifty in a Test match in England. In the second Test at home against West Indies, he scored 87, which was the best score of his career.
In the first Test in Kolkata against South Africa, he wasn’t in the Indian team. The Indian team managers moved Washington Sundar up to third base. Sudharsan didn’t get a fifty in any of his four innings in the two unofficial Tests that came before this one against South Africa A.
Suharsan joined the Indian team after having a good run at home over the last two years. So far, Sudharsan has scored 2562 runs in 38 first-class games, with an average of 39.41 and a hundred. Eight hundred runs have been scored by him so far for Tamil Nadu.
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