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Team India is currently hosting West Indies in a two-match Test series. While the Men in Blue registered a comfortable win by an inning and 140 runs in the first Test in Ahmedabad to go 1-0 up in the series, they are locking horn in the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. For the unversed, India won the toss and elected to bat first, having posted 318 runs at the loss of two wickets at Stumps on Day 1.
The opening day saw Yashasvi Jaiswal score unbeaten 175, KL Rahul fell at 38 whereas Sai Sudharsan, who is comparatively new to the Indian setup in the longest format, scored 87 off 165 deliveries, his best so far in Test cricket. His innings saw him lace 12 boundaries - all fours at a strike rate of 52.73, before falling to Jomel Warrican.
Sitanshu Kotak lauds Sai Sudharsan’s mentality after career best 87 in second Test vs WI
Speaking at the closure of Day 1 of the ongoing Test, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak assessed Sai Sudharsan’s performance and his gritty 87 off 165 balls. He began, “We all know how talented he is. Every time you don’t look at the score, you look at the batsman too — how he is batting, how he is pacing his innings, what kind of shots he plays. Sometimes, one or two innings, anybody can fail, but he batted brilliantly today.”
“While he was batting, did anyone of you feel that he was under pressure?" Kotak questioned. To this Kotak remarked, “I think he is someone who is mentally very tough. You will never see him under pressure, you will never see him change his style of playing. He always plays on merit. So, the same way he batted today.”
However, at lunch on Day 2, India had added 109 runs to their overnight score at the loss of two more wickets (427/4). With captain Shubman Gill batting steadily at unbeaten 75 off 1135 deliveries alongside Dhruv Jurel (7*), India aims to put up at least 500-plus runs on the board.
