MANCHESTER: Pictures and videos of B Sai Sudharsan, left-hand batter from Tamil Nadu, doing shadow batting near the covered wicket started doing the rounds as soon as India announced their playing XI against England for the fourth Test here at the Old Trafford Ground on Wednesday morning.
Dropped after the first match in Leeds, the 23-year-old Sai Sudharsan not only replaced Karun Nair on Wednesday but also went on to slam his first half-century scoring 61 runs. Obviously he was happy and spoke about the shadow batting he was doing a day before the match during the post-day press conference. "I do it every day. That's my go-to thing. So, I do it whenever possible, whichever time it is possible, I always visualise it. It's a great, great skill which anybody can possess and mentally you'll be ready. So, I always do it every day and before every game," he told the reporters here after the first day’s play. He also spoke about Rishabh Pant’s injury.
Sai Sudharsan was at the non-striker's end when Pant got hit and said the wicketkeeper-batter was in immense pain. "He was in a lot of pain definitely, but they've gone for scans. We'll get to know overnight, probably get the information tomorrow. So, it will definitely have consequences (if the injury is serious). But at the same time, the batters who are batting right now and there are a few more all-rounders inside. So, we'll try and give our best and bat long so that we (4:51) negotiate that loss very well."
After the good opening partnership between KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the visitors lost three quick wickets to be reduced to 140/3 in the second session but Sai Sudharsan along with wicketkeeper-batter Pant provided solidity in the middle-order to make sure the team cross 200-run mark.
The batter spoke on the pitch and said there was variable bounce in it which needed to be negotiated in the beginning. "There's a bit of variable bounce. It was a two-paced wicket as well and overcast was also there. So, throughout the day there were cloud covers and the ball was moving and doing something or the other from the wicket. I want to negotiate that really well and I thought I played a bit tighter and took some time on the wicket."
On Wednesday before he came out to bat, he was also seen doing something on a page. Speaking on it, he said, "I was actually drawing to just pass time when I am inside, just kind of a distraction. I was kind of in the game and out the game as well. So, because our openers played really well, I was slightly tired when I went in the first innings of the first game. So intense watching the game, just tried to wind down, just relax a bit when I was outside."
India skipper Shubman Gill is also his captain at the Gujarat Titans and the duo shares a good rapport. It came handy during the long five-match series especially when Sai Sudharsan was dropped from the playing XI. "After the first game, Shubby had a conversation with me that because of the combination, we were playing the best XI. He told me what happened behind the scenes, why I am not playing. So he's very communicative. As a captain, Shubby is like, he expresses really well, he tells everybody what he's expecting and he tells everybody what good we are doing as well just to reassure the players of the team. Seeing Shubby from the IPL it's been a really great journey so far."
He got out trying to pull England captain Ben Stokes down the long leg. Sai Sudharsan said the ball bounced a bit more than he expected. "I mean, I felt the dismissal, it held a bit more and bounced a bit more from the pavilion end. Actually, quite a few balls were bouncing a bit more from the pavilion end. I felt we can see that a bit more in the coming days. So, let's see how it is."
The batter also got a reprieve when he was on 20. Sai Sudharsan said he didn't know how he got an edge but said he would have walked off if the catch was taken by England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. "I don't know how I edged it down the leg, but yeah, as England team, we know they were trying to do it quite often to a lot of batters and probably even this side as well, even wide offside, they give a half volley just to make us drive or down the leg just to make us play something different. So, I feel, yes, I was a bit aware when coming into this game. So, it actually helped."
Speaking on the pressure he felt coming into the game, he said, "To be honest, I'm not looking at this as a pressure. So, it's a great opportunity for me to go out there and express myself. The game is all about pressure and handling it really well. So I'm trying to play the situation very well and do what I can do best for my team. So, that's the most important thought or that's the most important thing, which is right up in my mind rather than me playing my first Test or playing in place of another batter. So, as a batter or as a player for the team, I'm trying to do my best when I get in there."