The Indian cricket team is going through one of the lowest phases as it has already lost the 3-match ODI series to Bangladesh. Earlier it tasted defeat in the first 2 ODIs and today it will try to save some respect by winning the 3rd ODI which is going to be played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong. Even die-hard fans of the Indian team have lost faith in the players and many of them go on to say that hoping this team to win the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is a stupid thing to expect. Few former Indian cricketers have showed no hesitation in holding skipper Rohit Sharma and Indian head coach Rahul Dravid responsible for this poor performance of the team as they undertook many experiments in the last one year which didn’t give good results.
Though India’s performance was way below its standard in this series, still some players tried their best to change the situation, such as Washington Sundar who bowled pretty well in the 2nd ODI as he gave only 37 runs in his 10 overs as well as took 3 important wickets. Ahead of the 3rd ODI, Washington Sundar attended the pre-match conference in which he talked about various issues and also expressed his unhappiness over the fact that he was not able to play in the past two T20 World Cups because of his fitness issues.
When Washington Sundar is asked about the environment of the dressing room after India’s defeat in the 2nd ODI, the young cricketer gives a very balanced, matured and composed reply as he states that every match is an opportunity for them to improve themselves, get the right rhythm and play good as a unit. He adds that every match is important for them especially because there are not many games (before the ODI World Cup) and team India will play good brand of cricket irrespective of the opponent. As per Washington Sundar, the Indian players are of the mindset that they have to play to their potential and try improving themselves all the time.
Washington Sundar also says that he wants to be completely ready to play whatever role he is given by the team management in the limited overs cricket.
The 3rd ODI has started and by the time this article was written, India had scored 290/1 in 34.1 overs with Ishan Kishan (197 runs) and Virat Kohli (83 runs) on the crease.
Let’s hope things get better soon for team India.