India’s selection choices for the ongoing second Test against New Zealand at the MCA Stadium in Pune have sparked much debate among fans and cricket pundits. Rohit Sharma and the team opted for Shubman Gill, Akash Deep, and Washington Sundar, leaving out KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Washington Sundar’s inclusion, in particular, faced scrutiny. However, the off-spinner silenced his critics with a stunning delivery that took the key wicket of New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra, who had been looking solid at the crease.
Washington Sundar delivered what could be considered the ball of the match so far. Bowling around the wicket, he managed to get the ball to drift in before turning sharply. Ravindra, who had been batting fluently, tried to defend on the front foot but was unable to cover the turn. The ball squared him up and clipped the off stump, ending his gritty knock of 65 runs.
Sundar’s ecstatic celebration reflected the importance of the wicket, and Ian Smith, commentating at the time, praised the delivery, stating, “Sundar produces a cracker of a ball to dismiss New Zealand’s best batter.”
The BCCI also shared a video of the impressive dismissal, captioning it, “TIMBER. Cracker of a ball. Washington Sundar with a breakthrough.”
T. I. M. B. E. R! 🎯
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 24, 2024
Cracker of a ball! 👌 👌
Washington Sundar with a breakthrough 🙌 🙌
Live ▶️ https://t.co/YVjSnKCtlI #TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @Sundarwashi5 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/OC8VS7fnwT
If that was not enough, he went on to take 6 more wickets and played an important role in restricting visitors at 259 and with this he proved that selecting him was the best decision made by coach, captain and the team management.
Earlier, former Indian cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar and Anil Kumble disapproved the selection of Washington Sundar in the playing eleven.
