Podcast | ‘Sundar’s Amongst Most Formidable Test Match Debuts’

[00:00:00] What a day of test cricket we have. You can't help but have a smile on your face. At least

[00:00:13] I can't when I think about the day India have had at the Gabba on day 3 of the 4th test.

[00:00:19] 123 runs added by Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar for the 7th wicket that took India

[00:00:24] from 186 for 6 to 309 for 7. India trailed Australia by just 33 runs. By the time India

[00:00:32] were bowled out, Australia are now 21 for none at Stumps. Ayaz we keep talking about the

[00:00:37] spirit India have shown in this series and that 7th wicket stand was everything. Rahane

[00:00:42] team have been about during the series, isn't it?

[00:00:46] Well I think it's absolutely true. I think the fact that India have come back so strongly

[00:00:50] in this series after the debacle at Adelaide is a clear indication of what the ethos of

[00:00:55] the team is. I think that's something that we haven't, we've talked about it fleetingly

[00:00:59] but I think the culture in the team not to give up to keep fighting even the lower

[00:01:05] order batsmen or the bowlers apart from the fact that the fielding hasn't been

[00:01:10] quite up to the mark and that's true of both teams. I think in every department India

[00:01:14] have shown a lot of gumption, lot of spirit, never say die spirit in fact which has troubled

[00:01:19] the Aussies no end. In fact it's just in my opinion is punctured the Aussies you know

[00:01:25] their aspirations of kind of winning the series easily and exacting revenge for the

[00:01:31] defeat in 2018 that's not happened. And a clear example of that came again today

[00:01:36] when Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur put up a century partnership just when it

[00:01:41] seemed that Australia might seize a hundred, hundred twenty, hundred forty run lead.

[00:01:45] It wasn't to be. Finally the lead was whittled down to thirty three which is

[00:01:49] which is slender in the circumstances and actually I think the Australian team

[00:01:54] is under pressure because if they have to win the series at some stage they

[00:01:57] have to effect a declaration and for effecting a declaration tomorrow they

[00:02:01] will have to take risks the batsmen and they could end up you know

[00:02:04] losing wickets and the pressure then mounts again on them so this match is

[00:02:09] still tantalizingly poised. I'm Menrad Oji and I'm Ayaz Meemun and you're listening

[00:02:17] to the Aussie Challenge podcast on the Gwint powered by Palm Easy and Medi Buddy.

[00:02:27] Okay I'm going to take you through the scores before I get to Ayaz with my

[00:02:30] questions India had Rahane and Pujara start on the overnight score of 62 for

[00:02:35] two and they added 43 runs before Pujara fell on 25. Rahane followed on

[00:02:40] 37. Mayank made 38 and Rishabh Panth made 23 but India found itself in trouble at

[00:02:46] 186 per six then Shardul Thakur joined Washington Sundar and the two played

[00:02:51] a memorable innings one 23 runs for the seventh wicket with Thakur top scoring

[00:02:56] with 67 and Sundar making 62. India were eventually bowled out on 3 36 and

[00:03:02] Josh Hazelwood completed a five-focke conceding 37 runs Australia 21

[00:03:08] for none at Stumps. Now Ayaz had asked you earlier during our podcast in earlier

[00:03:13] podcasts if India had missed the trick by not playing Kuldip Yadav to go

[00:03:17] with a little more experience in test cricket in their bowling attack but

[00:03:21] as they've chosen to play an all-rounder in Washington Sundar I mean

[00:03:25] he's already picked three wickets he had the solid stand with Shardul Thakur

[00:03:28] today just goes to show another great selection decision made by Ajink

[00:03:33] Well it's a team you know team management I think we just keep you know for some

[00:03:37] reason I don't think we've given enough credit to the coach the support

[00:03:42] staff you know it's not just somebody who just plucks out somebody from somewhere

[00:03:46] and puts him into the team the fact is that Washington Sundar wasn't

[00:03:50] originally in the test squad he was drafted into the test squad so the

[00:03:54] selectors have played a part the team management has played a part and

[00:03:57] the biggest part has been played by Washington Sundar himself this is

[00:04:02] in my opinion this is amongst the most formidable test match debuts that

[00:04:08] I've seen in a long long time I can't think of too many I mean you know you

[00:04:11] have to go a long way back to sort of Ganguly making a century in his first

[00:04:15] test match at Lodz and then another century in the next test or

[00:04:18] something like that because to score a half century and it's not about the

[00:04:23] state of the pitch which is still playing true but the pressure of the

[00:04:26] circumstances he's only 21 years old he's picked up three wickets already

[00:04:30] in this match so I think Washington Sundar has made a statement and as I

[00:04:35] mentioned earlier he was not part of the original squad and now it'll be

[00:04:38] difficult to keep him out of the squad even if all the others come back

[00:04:41] okay we must talk about the partnership though I mean you know the shots they

[00:04:45] played the pace at which you know the partnership went most of it was

[00:04:48] dictated by India and it wasn't as it was really I want on the A game you

[00:04:52] know I mean a little before T they probably weren't but after you know

[00:04:55] Stark come in Hazelwood they were just charging at the two of them but

[00:04:58] just soldiered on and you know made that solid partnership that you know has

[00:05:01] put India in such a great position in the match now yes and there are two

[00:05:04] reasons for it one is of course as I mentioned the bravado shown the

[00:05:08] never-seed-died spirit etc etc the other is and this is actually you know

[00:05:12] this is actually a plodded to the Indian cricket system the way you

[00:05:16] know we there are so many areas in which we can all be very critical but

[00:05:20] the fact is that India's domestic cricket is becoming very strong and

[00:05:24] this is a reflection of that the way should soon the Washington Sundar and

[00:05:29] taco have played for you know in under 19 cricket Washington Sundar was an

[00:05:36] opening batsman along with the shoppanth in the under 19 tournament he's played

[00:05:41] a lot of his cricket as a as a front order or top order batsman so he's

[00:05:46] not had enough first-class experience because he's been classified as a

[00:05:50] white ball cricketer but he you know his batting skills have been learned well in

[00:05:55] the early formative years of his life and then there is shuttle Thakur who's

[00:06:00] you know who's got six half centuries to his credit in first-class cricket

[00:06:03] he's played what over 60 matches so and I think what Thakur showed today was

[00:06:09] you know the sometimes it's a cliche but the Kharuz Bombay school of

[00:06:14] cricket you don't give up you know for pride you play with pride and

[00:06:19] you play with a lot of spunk you don't give up that's what he showed today in

[00:06:22] fact you know it was a very clever way in which the partnership evolved if you

[00:06:27] if you go back and look at the score lines you'll see that Sundar started a

[00:06:31] little more aggressively but because he's the more organized batsman and

[00:06:35] he saw Shardul Thakur taking the attack to the bowlers he played he

[00:06:40] became the anchor and he let Shardul Thakur do the do the attacking so

[00:06:44] it was a you know very astute partnership apart from the fact that

[00:06:48] it was very productive okay I must talk about Mayank Agarwal personal favorite

[00:06:52] here but I mean you know he scored that 33 sorry 38 today isn't the best of

[00:06:56] numbers for me to be making a case but you know he was dropped after just what

[00:06:59] two matches there I mean for someone who's done so well on Australian soil

[00:07:03] before I think you feel like it was a little too early to have dropped him

[00:07:05] I don't think so I think two matches you know I mean you might say it's

[00:07:10] it's not too many but the manner in which he lost his wicket in all

[00:07:15] those four innings wasn't complementary to a batsman who's otherwise so good I'm

[00:07:20] you know I think Mayank Agarwal I rate him very highly and I thought even the way

[00:07:24] he was batting today I fell to myself without getting into social media and

[00:07:30] tweeting about it that you know India may have lost an opener but have but

[00:07:34] have found a middle order sound middle order batsman and then shortly

[00:07:38] after that he fell to a bad shot now that is something that he needs to

[00:07:42] guard against because when you're such a top quality player you got everything

[00:07:46] that you know a batsman requires good sound defensive technique and also the

[00:07:52] strokes to go with it then you need to build up big scores because there are

[00:07:57] two things one is if you make a mistake it hurts your team badly in a

[00:08:02] match or in a series the other is that if you make a mistake there's so

[00:08:06] much pressure there's so many other talented guys around that you're

[00:08:10] compelled in the selectors are compelled to look at somebody else and you lose your

[00:08:13] place and may not regain it for a long long time so my uncle needs to sort his

[00:08:17] you know stroke selection out more than anything else okay so Australia are

[00:08:23] about 21 for none at Stumps we know India just needed draw to be able to

[00:08:28] retain the border Gavaskar trophy since they're the defending champions

[00:08:31] Australia will want to go for the win here because otherwise you know the

[00:08:34] CDs doesn't end up their way so how does the match go for me if you had a

[00:08:38] wish list we know what the Aussies want but for India what would we want to be

[00:08:42] hoping for in the first session tomorrow I think India will be hoping for two or

[00:08:46] three wickets in the first session you get those wickets then it you know

[00:08:50] slows down Australia's run rate I mean they you force them on the onto the

[00:08:55] defensive Australia's best chance of winning this match I think is not

[00:08:59] enough runs quickly enough to declare not necessarily a tee time because

[00:09:05] they may not have enough runs on the board but about maybe an hour after tee which

[00:09:10] means that India will still have to bat out three and a half sessions and that

[00:09:13] could get tough if you're chasing about 300 in the fourth innings it's at

[00:09:17] Brisbane so India need to pick up some wickets early on especially that of

[00:09:21] David Warner who can really force the pace but if Australia don't lose

[00:09:25] wickets if they have lost only one wicket and there are some you know

[00:09:28] hundred hundred ten hundred fifteen for one then it seems that you know

[00:09:33] the pressure will start coming on India but as I see it now this is still a

[00:09:38] very open game and you know it's it's a rookie Indian team at least in the

[00:09:45] bowling department and if they can put so much pressure on Australia so far I

[00:09:49] think there's still reason to be optimistic.

[00:09:52] I just checked the weather forecast.

[00:09:54] Catter thunderstorms they're saying Monday Tuesday in Brisbane so that's also

[00:09:57] going to play a factor and considering India still have done so well in

[00:10:01] today's match in today also in the last match I mean there's a lot that Australia

[00:10:04] have to fear now right absolutely I think the weather I mean look it's not just

[00:10:08] that India came so close to Australia's score it's also the amount of time the

[00:10:12] Indian batsman spent today so if they had made the same number of runs and

[00:10:16] given maybe 60 minutes more for Australia to bat today it would have

[00:10:20] actually worked to Australia's advantage if they'd finished the day at 70-80

[00:10:24] for one because then the lead would have been that much more you know it

[00:10:27] would have been an excess of 100. Australia are fighting on two fronts one is that

[00:10:31] of course they have to preserve their wickets and notch up a good score the

[00:10:34] other they're fighting against overs I mean to have enough overs and if there's

[00:10:38] rain it's going to scuttle their plans for declaration and as you

[00:10:43] mentioned if India draws the match they win the Gavaskar border the

[00:10:47] border Gavaskar trophy but more than that it'll be a moral victory in every

[00:10:52] sense of the word.

[00:10:54] Thank you so much for joining us Ayaz we will be back with him on what will be the

[00:10:58] second last episode of the Aussie Challenge podcast on Monday evening thank

[00:11:02] you Ayaz. Thank you thank you bye bye and thank you all for listening to the

[00:11:06] Aussie Challenge podcast with Ayaz Mehman on the Quinn powered by Farm Easy India's

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