Remember, how before the start of the Lord’s Test, there was a debate, if India should even think of picking two spinners in the playing XI? There was sort of an unsaid agreement, that the wicket at Lord’s isn’t the most conducive for spin bowling, and hence Shubman Gill should only go with Ravindra Jadeja as the spinner. But that assessment, couldn’t be far from reality.
Washington Sundar, India’s New Hope in Spin
The way Washington Sundar bowled on day 4 of the Test, without a great deal of assistance from the wicket.. his spell of 3/19 in 9 overs, just tilted the scales further in India’s favour. In the third innings of the IND vs ENG Test, where it seemed like, the pacers would once again rule the roost, a not-100% fit Akash Deep meant, India had to largely contend with a bowler less, and Washi got a decent enough spell to bowl.
Spins a Web at Lord’s
In that span, he got rid of perhaps three of England’s best batters — Joe Root for 40, Ben Stokes for 33, and then Jamie Smith for 8. What was even more staggering is, Washington Sundar dictated the terms, and castled all the three batters, where Root and Smith were in sensational form already.
This was also a spell, that made for India batter Sanjay Manjrekar speak out for the all-rounder. He felt, that this was a lesson for Shubman Gill, who has over-used the pacers so far. He wrote, “Gill has a tendency to get a bit preoccupied with seam. This turnaround from Washy should serve as an early lesson in captaincy…when you have pure spinners in the side, always have them as part of your main plans. Not as an afterthought.”
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