Stats: Washington Sundar enters list of best Test bowling figures for India in losing cause

Washington Sundar. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Young Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar recently registered his name into the history books with exceptional figures of 11-115 in India’s recent Test defeat against New Zealand in Pune.

His performance made it only the fifth instance of an Indian bowler claiming 10 or more wickets in a losing Test cause, placing him in the company alongside legends like Javagal Srinath and Harbhajan Singh. Making his return to Test cricket after a three-and-a-half-year gap, Sundar was picked in the playing XI over Kuldeep Yadav, primarily to strengthen India’s batting depth following a collapse in the opening Bengaluru Test. However, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder delivered a masterclass in spin bowling that contradicted his long absence from red-ball cricket.

The first innings saw Sundar, exploit the conditions with brilliant control. His round-the-wicket delivery to dismiss the in-form Rachin Ravindra triggered a collapse as the youngster went on to claim career-best figures of 7/59.

In the second innings, the 25-year-old continued his impressive finesse with the ball, adding four more wickets to his tally. His victims included key batters Devon Conway and Tom Latham. What made Sundar’s achievement the topic of discussion as he topped veteran spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, India’s usual wrecker-in-chief in home conditions.

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With his brilliant figures, Sundar became the first Indian right-arm spinner other than Ashwin since 2011, who had claimed a five-wicket haul, thereby breaking Harbhajan Singh’s long-standing record.

Despite Washington Sundar’s heroics, India couldn’t prevent their first home series defeat since 2012. His figures of 11/115, now stand as the second-best bowling performance by an Indian in a Test defeat, behind only Javagal Srinath’s 13/132, which he took against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in 1999. The elite list also includes performances from Bapu Nadkarni (11/122), Harbhajan (11/224), and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar (11/235).

Interestingly, the Chennai-born has also been picked for the much-anticipated five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, which is scheduled for next month. Sundar will return to Australian soil for the second time after making his debut in the previous BGT tour in 2021.

Best bowling figures for India in losing cause