Over the past decades, Team India has produced some great batsmen and bowlers, but few all-rounders. However, a youngster from Chennai with an unusual name in India – Washington Sundar has begun his journey to become a household name in cricket. Born on 5 October 1999 in Chennai, he started playing in the Second Division League in Chennai at the age of 11.
Notably, Sundar is a bisexual cricketer, he bowls right-arm off-spin and bats with his left hand. After making waves at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, Sundar made his international ODI and T20I debut in 2017 and has represented the country in one ODI and 31 T20Is so far.
He made his Test debut against Australia earlier this year. He has shined with the bat, but his contribution with the bowling is unparalleled. Apart from being a regular member of Team India’s T20I squad, Sundar is an important contingent in the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The off-spinner has picked up 19 wickets in 32 matches since joining RCB in 2018.
The India international turned 22 on Tuesday and to celebrate his special day, we take a look at some of his top bowling performances:
IPL 2017 – 3/16 Rising Pune Supergiant vs Mumbai Indians, Qualifier 1, Mumbai
MS Dhoni-led Rising Pune Supergiant comfortably defended 162 runs and won the match by 20 runs. Courtesy of the then 17-year-old Sundar, who finished with impressive figures of 3/16 from his quota of four overs, cleared the way for his maiden IPL final.
3/22 vs Bangladesh, 5th T20I, Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-Series, Colombo, 2018
Batting first, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina’s second wicket partnership of 102 runs took India to 176 runs after 20 overs. Chasing a healthy total, the opponents fell early, thanks to Sundar’s exploits with the new ball, which sent the top three inside the powerplay. Team India defeated Bangladesh by 17 runs to secure their place in the final.
IPL 2019 – 3/24 RCB vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Bengaluru
Sundar was included by RCB in the 2018 edition. Playing his third game of the 2019 season, Sundar returned with figures of 3/24 in three overs to help restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to 175/7. A brilliant 144-run partnership between Shimron Hetmyer and Gurkeerat Singh and two late boundaries from Umesh Yadav sealed the game with four balls to spare.
3/89 vs Australia, 4th Test, Brisbane, 2021
Dream Test debut for Sundar couldn’t get better than this. After taking three crucial wickets of Steve Smith, Cameron Green and Nathan Lyon, he finished with figures of 3/89 in the first innings. The southpaw shared a 123-run partnership with Shardul Thakur to become the second Indian to score a half-century in his first batting innings and claim three or more wickets in the first Test bowling innings.
In India’s second innings, Shubman Gill scored 91, Rishabh Pant’s 89 not out and Cheteshwar Pujara’s 56 to hand the hosts their first defeat at the Gabba in 32 years.
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