Brisbane: In the ongoing fourth Test against Australia in Brisbane the visitors once again showed extreme resilience and fight to make a comeback. Debutant Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur’s rearguard effort that kept India alive in the fourth Test in Brisbane. The pair set a new record for Team India, as they added a gritty 123-run partnership for the seventh wicket in the visitors’ first innings.
The unbeaten partnership for India’s seventh wicket have garnering praises from all around the world, including the likes of skipper Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Tom Moody and many more. In the same light, former Indian batsman and current commentator Sanjay Manjrekar came up with a huge statement regarding Sundar and Shardul’s partnership, claiming it was almost like watching Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar bat together, the biggest compliment they could have gotten.
“Some of the shots they played, it was almost as if Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar were batting together, whereas realistically, these are No. 7 and No. 8 batsman. It was that good,” Manjrekar said during the tea break on day 3. The cricketer-turned-commentator, however, said that he wasn’t surprised with the panache with which they batted, despite claiming that it was something that any top-order batsman would be proud of.
“It shouldn’t surprise those who have watched them a little bit. Washington Sundar, we’ve seen his batting ability in the IPL and other T20 matches. He’s been a worthy First-Class batsman. He started his career as an Under-19 batsman. While Shardul Thakur has this unique hitting ability that we’ve seen in many small but crucial moments. Once for India against West Indies and then I think one of the Playoff games with Faf du Plessis. He’s got this nice hand-eye-coordination but today technically also very good.” Manjrekar explained.
“Some of the drives that he played, Washington Sundar, the balance that he has… and the advantage that you have when you’re a Shardul Thakur or a Washington Sundar is that when you come with no baggage. You’re coming there, you’ve not played this kind of bowling before in Australia. You haven’t had any dismissals in the past in this series to be clouded in the way you bat. So they came out with a clean mind. Imagine the talent of the guy, the way he bowled and batted. He didn’t look like a part-time off-spinner. He got three wickets and three deserved wickets so when I look at players like Sundar I’m just amazed by the talent he has. Batting, bowling all in one package.” Manjrekar concluded.
