Yet another day when Washington Sundar seized his opportunity

At 56/1, Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis are as well set as ever in the series. 

The duo have seen through Mohammed Siraj's tough first spell. They have even negated Arshdeep Singh's left-arm threat and Axar Patel's accuracy. Almost nothing has disturbed them out of the groove. 

Not even the introduction of Shivam Dube. That’s when Rohit Sharma brought out his trump card: Washington Sundar. 

Washington isn’t your traditional off-spinner. He belongs to a class of very few spinners who rely on the crease and deceptions created by height and trajectory to cause destruction. But even then, he is bowling against two right-handers who are not afraid one bit to employ the sweep shot. 

To make it worse, Fernando nails a sweep right in the gap between the two fielders out in the square leg region. The scoreboard isn’t just ticking, it is sailing at a speed that Sri Lanka haven’t seen in the series. 

If that wasn’t enough to pull down a bowler, the commentators remind Fernando of his prowess against spin. Before the second ODI on Sunday (August 4), the right-hander averaged 49.67 against spin, with just six dismissals in his entire ODI career. 

When you narrow it down to just off-spinners, those numbers skyrocket. 

Across 140 deliveries, Fernando was only dismissed once by an off-spinner. Not only that, even his strike rate was 95, which meant that everything here in this situation was against Washington. But the off-spinner knows what it is to have his back against the wall and put on a world-class performance. 

That’s exactly what defines him: his street smarts to outwit some of the biggest players in world cricket. But here, against Fernando, he hasn’t figured his way out yet. But that’s where he keeps at it, targeting the stumps, not giving him any sort of room, tempting the right-hander early into a shot. 

Washington's spell didn’t end there. He even removed the well-set Mendis at the other end. While it was the first ball of that over, it was still a setup, with the off-spinner understanding Mendis’ strength - playing the sweep shot - was also his biggest weakness against spin. 

Realising that Mendis was preempting a sweep shot, the Tamil Nadu man quickened the pace and fired the ball well within the line of the stumps, causing the former Sri Lankan skipper to be beaten all ends. 

It couldn’t have struck him any straighter to the stumps. Washington was a thorn to the Sri Lankan side with his sliders and the ball that gripped and turned a mile. 

First, he kept bowling sliders and quicker deliveries against Charith Asalanka before slowing it down and making the ball grip a mile. Eventually, Asalanka could do nothing but bow down to Washington's might, bowling the tough overs. 

That’s exactly what India needed at that moment, and that’s what Washington brings to this Indian setup: the ability to bat anywhere and bowl across any phase—highly beneficial for India’s future. 

Look... If you had... one shot... or one opportunity...

To seize everything you ever wanted... one moment...

Would you capture it? Or just let it slip?

Ravindra Jadeja’s absence from this series provided Washington Sundar with a prime opportunity to continue seizing his opportunity. 

In his 20-match ODI career, he only took 19 wickets, but in the second ODI, he showed exactly why the Indian selectors have a lot of time on their hands for the talented all-rounder. Ten overs, 30 runs, three crucial wickets, the off-spinner put on a mighty show. 

Washington didn’t just lose  win himself in the game but is also giving the selectors a real headache ahead of the Champions Trophy in 2025.

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