"Rohit ne out karwa diya bechare ko" - Fans split as Washington Sundar scores 18 off 30 as opener in IND vs AUS 3rd ODI
Washington Sundar opened alongside India captain Rohit Sharma against Australia in the third ODI at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday, September 27. The left-handed batter was promoted since Ishan Kishan was ruled out of the playing XI due to illness. In addition, Shubman Gill was rested for the final ODI.
Sundar, however, failed to score big in his new role. As an opener, he scored 18 runs off 30 balls, including one boundary and six. During his knock, he shared a valuable 74-run partnership with Rohit for the first wicket.
The 23-year-old fell prey to Glenn Maxwell in the 11th over of India’s run chase. The off-spinner bowled a tossed-up delivery outside off-stump. The batted went for a lofted shot at extra-cover region but the timing wasn’t that great. Marnus Labuschagne covered a good ground to his right before taking a diving catch.
With the ball, Sundar also returned wicketless in the third ODI.
Fans on X came up with mixed reactions to Washington Sundar’s wicket. One user wrote:
"Washington sundar was playing really nice, but Rohit Sharma suggested him to play inside out and gave simple catch. Rohit ne out karwa diya bechare ko (Rohit got the poor guy out)."
Here are some of the other reactions:
Rohit Sharma and Washington Sundar provide a promising start to India in the 353-run chase
Rohit Sharma and Washington Sundar were impressive in leading the charge for Team India in a 353-run chase on Wednesday.
At the time of writing, the Men in Blue were 135/1 after 20 overs, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the crease.
Batting first, Australia scored 352/7 in their allotted 50 overs.
Mitchell Marsh top-scored with 96 off 84, including three sixes and 13 fours. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne also chipped in with 74 (61) and 72 (58) respectively, while David Warner (56 off 34) also slammed a quickfire half-century.
Jasprit Bumrah starred with the ball for the hosts, finishing with figures of 3/81, while Kuldeep Yadav picked up two wickets. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna picked up one wicket apiece.
India are already leading the three-match series 2-0. The hosts beat Australia by five wickets in the first ODI before registering a 99-run win via the DLS method in the second game.
Follow the IND vs AUS 3rd ODI live score updates here.