Nidahas Trophy 2018: If we play to our strength, we will win the tournament, says Washington Sundar

India defeated Bangladesh by 17 runs in the 5th T20I of the Nidahas Trophy tri-series on Wednesday, thus sealing a spot for themselves in the final.

The side led by Rohit Sharma gave Bangladesh 177 target to chase with the skipper scoring match-winning 89 runs.

Bangladesh failed to reach the target, reaching 159/6 in their 20 overs with Indian spinners Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal bowling economical spells.

Sundar, who recorded figures of 22/3 in his four overs addressed the press conference after the match and said that it was important for him and Chahal to bowl well in the middle.

“It’s a very good feeling when you bowl under 6 every day. It was very important for me and Chahal to bowl well. Our 8 overs were very important.

Mine and Chahal’s four overs were very crucial and both us bowled well. It is not an easy wicket to defend any kind of totals. You saw them (Bangladesh) chasing down 215 odd runs. So we had our plans,” the 18-year-old said.

While Sundar took the wickets of Tamim Iqbal (27), Liton Das (7) and Soumya Sarkar (1) to dismantle the top order of the opposition, Chahal too recorded figures of 21/1 in his four overs to restrict Bangladesh’s middle-order.

Sundar, who is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 7 scalps under his name, has also bowled at an impressive economy rate of 5.87.

Talking about the challenges that come with bowling in powerplay overs, the off-spinner said one should be ready to face challenges when getting an opportunity to represent the country.

“It is definitely a challenging thing (to bowl in powerplay overs) but that is what you play cricket for. When you get an opportunity to represent your country you need to face those challenges. When you win those challenges you get a lot of satisfaction,” he said.

The allrounder, who has bowled 11 of his 16 overs in the tournament in the powerplay, said that his role as a batsman prepares him to understand the mindset of opposition’s batsmen. “I have to admit that I am very fortunate I have got this skill.

It’s more of reading the batsman’s mind, especially in the powerplays because every six balls, they will be looking to hit you out. So it’s important to read the mind. I myself being a batsman to an extent I can at least suspect what he is thinking or where he is going to hit me,” he said.

Sundar also spoke about league cricket which has helped him in bowling in powerplay overs. “I play a lot of league games back home.

A couple of years back, we played a tournament. I used to bowl two in the powerplay and two in the death overs which was difficult. These things helped me to get better as a cricketer.”

Talking about India’s upcoming final against Sri Lanka, the lanky spinner said that if India manage to play as per their plans, they could clinch the series.

“If we could play to our potential if we could play to our strength, if we could have another good day definitely we will win the tournament,” he said.

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