Sai Sudharsan’s wait for his maiden Test hundred continues, but this time, he impressed everyone with his intent and flow. On a warm Delhi afternoon, the 23-year-old left-hander crafted a composed 87 against the West Indies, a knock that saw him unleash himself on the big stage. Walking in under pressure, with questions hovering over his place at No. 3, Sudharsan played like a man intent on silencing all the noise.
His technique stood tall against both pace and spin, and by the time he reached his second Test fifty, he hadn’t offered a single false stroke. Alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, he stitched a 193-run stand that anchored India’s innings. But just as the century seemed inevitable, Jomel Warrican produced a ripper, a ball that spun sharply and pinned Sudharsan in front. The dismissal was unfortunate and ended in a heartbreak for Sudharsan.
Sudharsan, who looked nervous in all of his previous Test innings, played more freely in Delhi. A wristy player, Sudharsan smashed 12 boundaries in his 165-ball stay and remained on top of the Caribbean spinners mostly. With the opposition having two left-arm spinners bowling into him, Sudharsan made 62% of his runs on the on-side, meaning he was playing on the merit.
“Want that 100”: Sai Sudharsan
Speaking after stumps on Day 1, Sudharsan didn’t shy away from admitting the mix of satisfaction and longing that comes with missing a hundred by a whisker.
“I am definitely grateful for whatever I’ve done today, but there’s always a monkey in our mind that wants more, wants that hundred, and so I was looking forward to a lot more. It was a good contribution and a very good partnership with (Yashasvi) Jaiswal. I was not thinking about getting runs, I was a bit freer and I expressed a bit better in this innings,” he told the host broadcaster.
“I was able to take a bit more time and let things happen instead of trying to make things happen,” he added, showing on the subtle mental shift that helped him settle into his rhythm.
The Tamil Nadu batter was also full of praise for his partner Jaiswal, who remained unbeaten on 173 at stumps. “It’s fascinating and so thrilling to watch him from the other end. He plays a lot of exciting shots. He converts a lot of good balls into boundaries, so it’s really good to watch. He’s giving me more awareness of what kind of shots to be played,” Sudharsan said.
With India finishing the day at 318/2, Sudharsan’s 165-ball vigil may not have brought him a century, but it gave a glimpse of a batter learning, adapting, and slowly growing into his Test role. As he summed it up, “There’s no competing there, but I am learning a lot more and being more aware of what shots to play if I want to convert good balls into runs.”
The post Sai Sudharsan reveals his mindset after failing to score maiden Test century for India appeared first on Inside Sport India.
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