Batting Prodigy on the Ascent Sai Sudharsan’s sublime century and India’s subsequent victory were a lovely counterpoint to bowler Rajvardhan Hangargekar’s five-wicket performance. A won by eight wickets against Pakistan A.
Sai Sudharsan, an up-and-coming batsman, scored a magnificently elegant hundred, which complemented bowler Rajvardhan Hangargekar’s five-wicket haul as India won. On Wednesday in Colombo, at the conclusion of the Emerging Asia Cup league stage, a defeated Pakistan A by eight wickets. After 48 overs, Pakistan’s batsmen were dismissed for 205 runs, with Hangargekar taking 5 for 42. In response, Sudharsan batted unbeaten for 104 runs off 110 balls, and the team easily chased down the modest goal in 36.4 overs.
In fact, to reach his fourth List A hundred, Sudharsan pulled and then lofted experienced Pakistan team pacer Shahnawaz Dahani for back-to-back sixes.
His 99-run partnership with Nikin Jose (53 off 64 balls) from Kerala effectively ruined Pakistan’s chances of mounting a comeback.
Against Nepal the previous night, Sudharsan was just as effective, hitting 10 boundaries and three sixes. Once he was in position, his driving was imperial on both sides of the wicket. The over 40 singles he took to keep the strike cycle going were the highlight of his at-bat.
Captain Yash Dhull (21 not out off 19 balls) deserves credit for letting Sudharsan go for the milestone by providing him most of the strike during their 53-run partnership.
Sudharsan, needing just two runs to win and get his century, smashed Dahani for a six over extra cover.
I was trying to maximize my safe runs and counting by ones and twos and minimizing the number of dots in play. It was a risky and challenging wicket to bat on while facing spin bowlers. Sudharsan remarked after the game that he preferred playing against quick bowlers.
But the credit for keeping Pakistani batsmen in check goes not just to Hangargekar, since no one scored more than fifty, but also to left-arm spinner Manav Suthar (3/36 in 10 overs).
The Pakistani team’s total wouldn’t have looked respectable if Qasim Akram (48) and Mubasir Khan (28) hadn’t contributed 53 for the seventh wicket.
The hulking man from Maharashtra, Hangargekar, bowls accurate back-of-the-length stuff with the occasional larger delivery. The top-order batters struggled to hit drives on the up against the pace of the ball, which hovered around 140 ticks per over.
The Rajasthani Sutar employed a wide range of speeds and the loop effectively to achieve his fair number of dismissals.
