Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar made an impressive return to the Indian team after a lengthy injury layoff and showed how good he is with the bat in the recent ODI series against New Zealand.
The third and final ODI between the two sides ended in a no contest after rains washed out the game in the second innings when only 2 overs were left for a full game to be constituted. This meant that New Zealand, who had won the first ODI in Auckland, won the series 1-0 as well, as the second ODI in Hamilton had also been called off due to rain.
In this match, Washington Sundar scored his first ODI half-century in 51 while Shreyas Iyer made 49 as India posted 219 runs after being asked to bat first by Kane Williamson who won the toss. In reply, New Zealand were 104/1 in 18 overs when rains came down, with Finn Allen having made 57 runs.
Washington, while answering a question from broadcaster and former left-arm spinner Murali Karthik, had a brain fade moment, as he forgot where he was.
"Definitely, playing for Lancashire in Manchester was very cold. Very similar to … Ummm … very similar to (looks behind puzzled) … Where are we? he said before Kartik informed him 'We are in Christchurch'. Washington then continued, "Yes, it helped me prepare for such cold conditions today".
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Sundar was alluding to the fact that playing county cricket for Lancashire recently prepared him for playing in cold conditions.
After having come in to bat at 149/6, Washington played really well to reach his half-century with a six off Tim Southee but perished two balls later as India were bowled out inside 48 overs.
"I had some message coming from the coach and I just wanted to focus on getting things done as per the message. With my process and whatever has helped me in the past with my batting, I tried to keep things very simple. Just watched the ball and felt that I follow my instincts, things will take care of themselves," he said on Prime Video.
Sundar will now be seen in action on tour of Bangladesh with the three-ODI series beginning on December 4.
