"The last 24 hours have been amazing" - Washington Sundar reflects on dream debut at Brisbane
India's 301st Test player Washington Sundar reflected on his dream debut on Friday. The 21-year-old, who took the crucial wicket of Steve Smith on Day 1 of the Brisbane Test, was overjoyed with the last 24 hours and dedicated the moment to his family.
Washington Sundar was brought into the attack in the 23rd over. The right-arm off-spinner was immaculate with his lines and lengths and kept the lid on the Australian run-scoring.
His thrifty bowling was awarded soon as Smith, looking to flick a straight delivery, provided a dolly catch for Rohit Sharma at short mid-wicket. Addressing a virtual press-conference after the match, Washington Sundar called his debut a 'dream come true'.
"The last 24 hours have been amazing for me, the management did ask me to be ready to play this game and I was really excited. It's definitely, a dream come true moment for me," said Sundar.
"I think I should dedicate this to my family, they really worked hard and sacrificed a lot of things for me to achieve this. I don't think it was possible for me to play the Test match without their support," said Sundar.
Staying behind with the team helped me improve my skills: Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar was not part of the original Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Indian team management asked him to stay back as a nets bowler after his impressive performances in the white-ball leg of the tour. He was roped into the eleven as a replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin.
Sundar remarked that staying with the team for the past few weeks helped him hone his all-around skills.
"I (would) like to thank the management for asking me to stay throughout the Test series because I felt I improved on my skill levels, both in my batting and bowling, while staying here. The facilities over here, the wicket over here, everything over here, I felt it would help me better my skills," said Sundar.
Australia went to stumps with 274 runs on the board at the loss of 5 wickets. Besides his bowling, India will look to Washington Sundar for some significant contributions with the bat as well.