Wriddhiman Saha bats through poor fortune and pain to show why he's the ideal team man
It sometimes feels like Wriddhiman Saha can’t catch a break. Ever since Rishabh Pant’s rapid rise in India’s Test team, chances have been few and far in between for the 37-year-old wicketkeeper.
Pant was earlier seen as India’s overseas wicketkeeper due to his superior batting prowess. However, after his heroics at the Gabba and with the youngster improving his skills behind the stumps as well, Pant seems to have overtaken Saha in the pecking order at home as well.
Pant was preferred in the home Tests against England, during which he also scored a fantastic century – his first in India and third overall.
However, with a grueling cricket calendar, Pant was rested for the two-match Test series against New Zealand, opening up another opportunity for Wriddhiman Saha to show why he has been considered India’s best gloveman.
But come the first match in Kanpur, bad fortune struck Saha.
India batted first and Saha was caught behind by Tom Blundell for 1 in the first innings.
He was faultless behind the stumps during Day 2 as Will Young and Tom Latham gave India almost no openings, but on Day 3, he woke up with a sprained neck and KS Bharat took his place with the gloves.
Bharat largely impressed with his wicketkeeping and there were murmurs of Saha’s spot as India’s second-choice keeper being in danger from him.
But, with India in trouble with the bat in the second innings, Wriddhiman Saha played through his pain to score a key half-century and showed why he is the ultimate ‘team man’.
Saha joined Shreyas Iyer at the crease with India at 103/6 and then put on a 64-run partnership with him. He got off to a watchful start before hitting a four and a six off consecutive deliveries from Will Somerville.
Saha kept attacking Somerville when he could, but then exercised refrain after Iyer fell for 65.
He then put on another meaningful partnership, this time with all-rounder Axar Patel. The two put on 67 runs before India declared, setting a 284-run target for New Zealand.
Saha finished unbeaten on 61 off 126 deliveries, hitting four boundaries and one six in his stellar knock.
He then only kept wickets for two overs before walking off again due to his neck injury and had to watch from the stands as New Zealand salvaged a dramatic draw, but his impact on the match was indelible.
After Day 4 in Kanpur, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour hailed Saha as the “ideal team man”. Speaking at a virtual press conference, Rathour said of Saha:
“He had a really, really stiff neck and knowing Saha who is an ideal team man, he is going to do whatever is required. He would do the tough things for the team and he played an extremely important knock at the stage the team was at that point.”
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Wriddhiman Saha shows why he's Mr Dependable for India
That Saha burst onto the scene while MS Dhoni was still going strong meant it was always going to be difficult for him to cement his spot, and he only had a short window as India's premier Test keeper before Rishabh Pant staked his claim. But whenever given the chance, Saha showed that the team could call upon him to get them out of tricky situations.
This was not Wriddhiman Saha’s first rescue act for India.
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In 2017, India were 328/6 after Australia scored 451 in the first innings. Saha then went on to hit a memorable 117 to complement Cheteshwar Pujara’s 202 to help India take a massive lead and declare on 603/9.
Australia managed to salvage a draw, but the 199-run partnership between Pujara and Saha proved to be crucial with India at one point staring at the possibility of defeat, having already lost the series opener in Pune.
In 2016, India were 126/5 after being put in to bat in St Lucia by the West Indies. Saha then batted for 227 deliveries to score his maiden Test ton, hitting 104 in a 213-run partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin, who also scored a century in that match.
India went on to win the match by 237 runs.
His second Test century, which came against Bangladesh in 2017, was the only one which came with India in a relatively comfortable position.
Apart from his contributions with the bat, Saha has given India many a breakthrough with his remarkable wicketkeeping skills.
Saha has regularly taken blinders behind the stumps, whether it be diving at full stretch off pacers or completing some juggling catches off spinners. He has also been lightning quick with his stumpings and has played a huge role in the likes of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja being such deadly forces at home.
In his press conference, Vikram Rathour had said:
“That is what we always expect from Wriddhi. He has always been that kind of a person, whom we can count on and today he showed why.”
The quote sums up Saha’s career for India very well. While he may not always be the first in the pecking order, Saha has always been someone the team can count on, and he showed that again on Sunday.