Sai Sudharshan's Pre-Batting Routine Goes Viral, Gives 'Rahul Dravid' Deja Vu To Fans
Young batter Sai Sudharsan finally got a chance to make a Test debut for India but his beginning was quite disappointing. Sudharsan, who plays for Gujarat Titans in the IPL, was dismissed for a duck in the first innings. However, he showed some zeal and scored 30 off 48 balls before getting dismissed by Ben Stokes in the second innings. The 23-year-old batter is known for his brilliant shots and will be eager to contribute more in the upcoming Tests against England.
During second innings on Day 3, the cameraman captured a brilliant moment of Sudharsan, when he was trying to meditate before coming out to bat.
In a video going viral on social media, Sudharsan was seen holding a ball and focussing on it, in order to mentally prepare himself to bat. He was later seen taking down some notes on a paper and doing some analysis of the game.
Focus. Visualise. Execute
Great innings begin long before the first ball #SonySportsNetwork #GroundTumharaJeetHamari #ENGvIND #NayaIndia #DhaakadIndia #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/9cFeuYikUl
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) June 22, 2025
Notably, former India coach Rahul Dravid is popular for writing down notes during the game. He used to maintain the scorecard of the match in his notebook and analyze it later to prepare for the next match.
KL Rahul drove his way to a sublime 47 after England negated India's advantage by totalling 465 in their first innings as the visitors had another ordinary day in the field on day three of the first Test.
India dropped as many as five catches and barring Jasprit Bumrah, the effort from the pacers left a lot to be desired, allowing England to even out the game after the Shubman Gill -led side posted 471 in its first essay.
At stumps, India reached 90 for two with Rahul (47 batting off 75) and Shubman Gill (6 batting off 10).
Brydon Carse had Yashavi Jaiswal (4 off 11) caught behind with a ball that seamed away while Ben Stokes got rid of debutant Sai Sudharsan (30 off 48) for the second time in the game, the southpaw's flick falling into the hands of Zak Crawley at mid-wicket.
Rahul was a delight to watch as he majority of his seven fours came via the cove driver off the fast bowlers. He did not look any discomfort whatsoever despite the ball doing a bit in overcast conditions.
Stumps were drawn when rain arrived at Headingley with India leading by 96 runs.
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India Today
27 minutes ago
- India Today
ENG vs IND: How Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope neutralised Jasprit Bumrah in 1st Test
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Ollie Pope, the England vice-captain, came into the Test series with his spot in question. At the pre-match press conference, Ben Stokes had to explicitly mention that Pope would be playing ahead of Jacob Bethell in the first game of the that trust was paid in full. Like he does in most series, Pope started exceptionally well. His century in the first innings, where he batted from the second over itself, was instrumental in England nullifying India's massive first innings total of 471 who has been dismissed by Bumrah five times in the nine Test matches, put up a brave face and executed a plan that might get replicated in the near future against the star India fast rotated strike often against Bumrah, handling the bowler with Ben Duckett. The constant changes of strike did not let Bumrah settle. He had to keep switching his plans between Duckett and Pope, which did not allow him to settle into a rhythm. This came in sharp contrast to Bumrah's bowling against Zak Crawley, whom Bumrah was able to overhaul by bowling six straight balls in the first over of the England unlike England's 2024 series against India, got in his trigger early to counter Bumrah's unique action, which allows him to hyperextend his bowling arm and bowl from ahead of the popping other part of the process was being positive, taking calculated risks against the India fast bowler, who has the ability to work you over in case you go into a shell."Me and Pope spoke a lot to really keep each other going as a partnership. I think it's about finding that balance and being positive. When you've got someone bowling as well as Bumrah is, you have to find ways to score at the other end and keep the pressure on them," Duckett had said at the start of the Test India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar analysed Duckett's batting and argued that the England top order had shunned the idea of Bazball against Bumrah, especially in the opening overs of the match."In that (Day 5) first hour, there was absolutely no sign of 'Bazball'. They simply played old-fashioned, sensible Test cricket. Later in the session, when the run rate began to improve, it wasn't because they suddenly decided to shift gears. It was more a case of the Indian bowlers tiring on a surface that wasn't offering much," Manjrekar said after the conclusion of the first Test needs to be noted that out of the 57 runs that Bumrah conceded in the second innings, 32 came off Ben Duckett. After surviving the first five overs against Bumrah, where he nearly edged him twice, Duckett got into the is probably important to point out that Duckett's ability to survive Bumrah was also down to his technique, as he played balls very, very late—something that the Bazballing English team isn't exactly known hit three boundaries against the star pacer, cutting and pulling him for runs in the morning session, essentially playing the pacer under his on Duckett, former cricketer Deep Dasgupta argued that Duckett read Bumrah better than the rest of the players.'He reads him better. Bumrah would give you cues, but his would be very unique. Duckett picks those cues better. The way he plays, he doesn't come forward and plays from the crease. Most of his batting is based on eye-hand coordination. Not much footwork, less chance of you getting caught across the line. You get a nick or get bowled. That kind of helps—playing from the crease and on the back foot, giving him that extra time,' Deep Dasgupta the Test series moves towards Birmingham, a venue where England chased down 378 runs against India in 2022, it needs to be pointed out that Bumrah has already bowled 44 overs in the opening a bowler who is supposed to have a lesser workload and play only three matches, that is probably a bit too high—nearly 30 percent of the total overs that he bowled in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against that is probably where the brilliance of Pope and Duckett lay in the 1st Test. That they were able to extract that little bit more out of the star pacer, and in turn from the Indian India take a long break between the 1st and 2nd Test match, it is probably time for the Gautam Gambhir side to respect the England batters a little more for the amount of background work that they have done coming into this Test series.- EndsYou May Also Like
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an hour ago
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Headaches from Headingley: How will India rally after losing 1st Test? Should Kuldeep Yadav come into XI now?
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Jasprit Bumrah, after bowling his heart out in the first innings and taking 5-83, was played out with extreme caution by the English batters in his first couple of spells in the second innings. But it was his support cast that left a lot to be desired. Mohammed Siraj couldn't create consistent pressure while Prasidh Krishna, despite five wickets over two innings, went for over six runs per over. The lone spin option Ravindra Jadeja couldn't come close to creating the mayhem that he does on spin-friendly tracks in India. India Outplayed at Headingley | England Go 1-0 Up in the Series | IND vs ENG 1st Test But coach Gautam Gambhir gave the impression that there wouldn't be wholesale changes in the bowling attack for the second Test in Birmingham starting in a week's time. While he spoke about Siraj's experience, there was high praise for Prasidh too. 'Barring Bumrah and Siraj, we don't have too much experience in the attack. Prasidh bowled very well and got us important wickets. 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Watching Test cricket in England: Ticket prices, food options, museum and all about Headingley Even if the top-three pacers are retained, it will be difficult to persist with Shardul Thakur. He only bowled 16 overs in the Test, taking two wickets, and failed with the bat. Though Gambhir was adamant that the wickets that Shardul got were important, there's no doubt that there is a case to strengthen the bowling attack, which lacked the teeth to take 20 wickets. 'I agree that even if you score 1000 runs, a victory is not guaranteed. To win, you need to take 20 wickets, but we will have to see the conditions (at Edgbaston) before taking a call,' Gambhir said. Kuldeep looks a mandatory inclusion If the coach has to walk the talk, his best bet could be Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test. The left-arm wrist spinner played a superb hand when England last toured India in 2023-24, taking 19 wickets at an average of 20.14. 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Mint
an hour ago
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Archer should not be rushed back to play second Test against India: Vaughan
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