On Friday, head coach Gautam Gambhir had reposed faith in B. Sai Sudharsan’s ability at one-down. On Saturday, Sudharsan repaid it by scoring 81 runs on the first day of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh.
“It gives so much freedom and certainty, mentally, when the coach, team and captain support you, back you and want you to do well. It is such an honor and obviously gives freedom to express yourself rather than think about scoring or about ‘will I play the next game?’. That never arises,” Sudharsan said at the post-match press conference.
Sudharsan had a platform when he arrived after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s wicket but had to negotiate with a slightly sluggish surface and the odd deliveries that spun sharply.
With support from senior KL Rahul, Sudharsan notched up his third Test half-century in his seventh Test. Their 139-run partnership for the second wicket piled the pressure on the visitors and put India on track for an innings victory.
“The conversation [with Rahul] was about understanding what was happening, how the wicket was behaving and who was bowling what. We were not thinking about one player attacking more or one attacking less. With KL, he gives so much composure when I bat with him; He gives so much certainty, it helps as a batter and he sees the game very well, gives a lot of useful views, Sudharsan said.
The highlight of Sudharsan’s innings came in his onslaught against the two spinners – Nangeyalia Kharote and Abdul Malik. He used their over-pitched deliveries to unfurl his sweep shot off which he accumulated 12 runs.
Though Sudharsan has fared better off tweakers, the sweep shot was not in his repertoire last year during India’s home debacle against South Africa. In the only game he played in that two-match series, Sudharsan endured through a toiling 139-ball 14 and could not get a move on.
The new-found intent on taking the spinners on, besides their modest skill, came from technical work after joining the Indian team post the Indian Premier League season.
“I think the biggest conversation was around how well we can play spin, how well we can understand the conditions and score runs out of it rather than just looking to play time – mentally or even tactically. Personally, mentally it was more about believing and trusting my abilities and what I can do as a batter. Tactically we were having a lot of conversation around what can we do to disturb the bowler, what options can we take so that we keep on ticking the scoreboard rather than just soaking up and playing time,” Sudharsan said.
Published on Jun 06, 2026
