Ever since his heroics in the IPL (Indian Premier League), where he scored a brilliant 96 in the final for Gujarat Titans against Chennai Super Kings, B. Sai Sudharsan’s stock has been rising as he hops from one tournament to another.
Days after the IPL, he continued his purple patch in the TNPL (Tamil Nadu Premier League), where he amassed 371 runs in six games with four half-centuries before enjoying a dose of red-ball cricket playing for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy in one match.
Following that, in his maiden India A appearance in the ACC Emerging Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, he had a decent outing with 220 runs from five matches, including an unbeaten century against Pakistan A in a league game.
READ: West Zone faces East Zone, winner to meet South in the final
On Sunday, the 21-year-old was back for South Zone in the Deodhar Trophy and made a vital half-century (53) and stitched a crucial 118-run stand with skipper Mayank Agarwal to help the team beat East Zone and reach the summit clash.
Speaking about representing a national side for the first time, Sai Sudharsan said, “It was surreal to have the India jersey with my name and number, but at the same time, I think there are many more things to do. I was not fully happy with the whole tournament. It is not about the scores, but the way I play is what I am focusing on.”
Sai Sudharsan struck an unbeaten hundred against Pakistan A in a league stage game of the ACC Emerging Asia Cup earlier in July. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
An India-Pakistan game is one of the most challenging encounters at any level, and the Tami Nadu batter was in the thick of things in the league game, guiding the chase.
“Though there was no extra pressure, the intensity was very high. After the match, I was completely exhausted and crashed to sleep in my room. I was happy I could help the team win and score the winning runs,” he said about his best knock of the tour.
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While he finished as the third-highest scorer for his side, the youngster felt there are areas he needs to work on, like his game against short-pitch bowling. “I think it is not difficult to adapt to playing short-pitched stuff. It is more about mental clarity. I want to be instinctive and reactive rather than think about what will happen. Similarly, even in that century knock, I felt I could have played much better during the middle phase because it was not an easy pitch to rotate strike. But if I can do well on these pitches, it will help me on a good surface. So I am trying to get better in every game,” he explained.
Tuesday’s fixtures: North Zone vs North East Zone, CAP Ground 3; East Zone vs West Zone, CAP Ground 2 (both at 9 a.m.); *Central Zone vs South Zone, Siechem Stadium (1.30 p.m.).
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