Washington Against New Zealand Today: Hardik Pandya Lavishes Huge Praise On Sundar

India captain Hardik Pandya was full of praise for Washington Sundar after the first T20I match against New Zealand played at the JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi on Friday, January 27, 2023.

New Delhi: India captain Hardik Pandya was full of praise for Washington Sundar after the first T20I match against New Zealand played at the JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi on Friday, January 27, 2023.

Sundar was the pick of the bowlers for India, returning with figures of 2 for 22 that helped India restrict New Zealand to a score of 176 for 6.

With the hosts staring at an embarrassing defeat, Sundar played a lone hand of 50 off 28 balls to get India to a respectable total of 155 for 9, thereby reducing the margin of the defeat.

“The way he bowled, he batted and fielded, it was Washington against New Zealand today. We needed someone who can bat and bowl, gives us a lot of confidence and it will help us going forward,” Pandya said about the India all-rounder after the 21-run defeat against the Kiwis.

“No one even thought that the wicket would play like that and both teams were surprised. But they played better cricket on this and that’s why the result end up like that. Actually, the new ball was turning more than the old one and the way spun, the way it bounced it caught us by surprise,” Pandya further said after the game.

“But somehow we pulled it back and were in the game till Surya and myself were batting. On hindsight, I don’t think this wicket was 177, we were with the ball and conceded 20-25 runs. It is a young group and we will only learn from this,” he concluded.

Barring Sundar’s fifty, Suryakumar Yadav (47) once again played an impressive knock but it wasn’t enough to get India over the line.

The second T20I is scheduled to be played in Lucknow on Sunday, January 29, 2023, with the visitors leading the three-match T20I series 1-0.