Washington Sundar urges faith as India struggle in Guwahati Test: Gotta stay positive

India Today

IND vs SA: Washington Sundar asked the team and fans to stay positive despite India’s struggles in Guwahati. Backing intent over outcomes, he stressed that belief in plans and players remains crucial in difficult moments.

Transcript

00:00All right. Guys, question comes Sundar with us. As usual, one question at a time, who

00:10wants to go first? Yes, sir.

00:15Qashid, the way you guys will be involved, do you think that there was a necessity to

00:22go for extraordinary shots, which was really a better time?

00:28I mean, there's a lot of, there's quite a few ways you can play the game and I think it's

00:34up to the individuals as to what their plans are, especially on this wicket, what their

00:39plans are and, you know, we just back our plans and at times it doesn't go the way we want

00:46it to, but yes.

00:50Qashid, what was the plans in terms of bowling rates that you were looking at today morning,

00:57because you need to, you needed to push the game forward at the end, so the ball would

01:01start, so what was, was there an ideal target that you had, you needed to get to before

01:07the end of the game?

01:08Nothing at all. In a five day match, I don't think you got to think about, you know, score

01:14or especially run rate, you know, you can't really play like that, especially against a

01:17quality bowling attack. And we just wanted to play, you know, like any other test match

01:22innings and, you know, if anything, we would have probably planned tomorrow, you know, if

01:27we are in a scenario where, we were in a scenario where we only lost four, five wickets today, then

01:34we can always plan tomorrow and we back quite deep as well. I think, I mean, going into the

01:38day-to-day, I don't think there was any plan as to how much we need to get, I mean, how much

01:43we need to get today or probably in the first innings as well.

01:47Qashid, I understand that it's a little unfair on this question to you, because it's not you who

01:52makes the call. Is there a feeling of being unsettled when you back five different positions

01:56in seven positions? Not at all. Honestly, I mean, I really want to be the cricketer who

02:06steps up whenever the team requires and wherever the team wants me to bat and bowl, you know,

02:11I got to be ready and I got to, you know, get things done for the team. That's the kind

02:16of mindset I'm in. No matter what situation I'm in, it's very exciting for me that way.

02:22I also get to play different roles and I don't think, you know, many get that opportunity.

02:27So, it's only exciting.

02:29Qashid, Indian players said that the pitch felt like a road for the bowlers, when the Indian

02:35bowlers were bowling. So, what exactly went wrong that this road became a snake pit for the Indian players?

02:43Like, what was wrong? And because you batted so well, if you can explain what went wrong?

02:50I mean, it wasn't a snake pit or whatever you may call it. I mean, it's a very good wicket.

02:56It's a true wicket. I mean, not many days you'll get to, you know, sort of bat on such tracks,

03:03especially in India. And, you know, it's honestly, it's a true wicket. I mean, if you spend time there,

03:09runs out for the taking, you know, can't really contain runs for a very long period of time.

03:15I think it was just a good wicket.

03:18Qashid, just wanted to ask you about Chukub and Bishop's shots. Do you think it was the exhibition part

03:26gone wrong or did you say that those shots are considering? It was the record wicket to bat.

03:31It could be bad for 120 balls. Those could have been avoided because the team was bowling well

03:36because they were solid open stands. How do you know?

03:39I mean, on another day, both of the balls would have gone into the stands and all of us would have appreciated

03:45and clapped. I mean, that's how it is. And, you know, sometimes you just got to back their plans

03:53and their skill sets as well. I mean, given the fact that they've, you know, showed a lot of, you know, proof

04:02and evidences in the past as well. So, I think it's just about them backing their skill sets

04:07and obviously execution didn't go the way we wanted.

04:12Qashid, you just spoke about getting back at the position in the past.

04:18But would you say you're rather happy at batting at number three?

04:24I mean, you know, that's not going to start?

04:27I'd say I'm the happiest to bat wherever the team wants me to bat. You know, that way, it's a lot more exciting.

04:33And, you know, this is a team game. And, you know, there's a lot of strategies that go into the game

04:41depending on the conditions, depending on the opposition. And it's very tactical at times.

04:46I mean, even in football, if you see good players might only get to play 20-30 minutes.

04:51And that's how the game is. I mean, that's how the strategies work.

04:55So, yeah, wherever the team wants me to play, I think I'm the happiest that way.

05:00Qashid, you said it's a true pitch, but when Jansen was going, he seemed to be getting a bit of uneven knocks.

05:07And especially with his height. Can you respect how it was facing him?

05:12And, you know, what was the difficulty of facing him today?

05:16It wasn't uneven at all. I mean, it's just that he's obviously the tallest going around.

05:21And he gets that bit of sharp, you know, bounce of a shot of good length.

05:30But, yes, I mean, we've played such bowlers quite a lot.

05:34And it's just that on another day, we would have, you know, batted the same deliveries a lot better

05:40and would have seemed like a very different scenario.

05:51What did Jansen do well?

06:12I mean, you can't really compare like that. It's, you know, it's battled between batsmen bowlers

06:20and their batters are different from ours and bowlers are different.

06:23So, you can't really compare like that. I mean, you can't really think like that.

06:28At times, our bowlers might get 7-8 wickets and the opposition might not.

06:32It's not that, you know, there's a huge amount of difference.

06:37Sometimes the batters also play really well.

06:39So, I think, obviously, he bowled really well. He bowled those crucial spells,

06:44especially picking, you know, wickets in crucial, you know, times.

06:49You know, just before T, you know, we lost a few wickets and then immediately after T is where we lost wickets.

06:54So, I think he bowled his heart out and credits to him.

06:58Five questions.

07:02Hi, Rashi, did you see any chance of comeback?

07:06Got to stay positive in life, you know, never know what will happen. Yeah.

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