By Admin 
When Washington Sundar returned to the Test side after a gap of three years against New Zealand last year, the all-rounder instantly impressed with his off-spin with 16 wickets in two Tests in Pune and Mumbai. But while those pitches were square turners that backfired on the Indian team, the 2025-26 home season has seen Shubman Gill and Co. play on more placid, batting-friendly surfaces.
Particularly at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the second Test, a typically docile strip has compelled the Indian bowlers to toil long and hard for their wickets. After bowling 13 wicketless overs in the first innings, the finger-spinner from Chennai had just one scalp in 23 overs to show for his efforts in the second essay.
“The wicket did not have much bounce. And obviously, there wasn’t a lot of turn on offer also in this game. But yeah, different venues play quite differently and that’s the beauty about this format in particular. We try and assess what’s really required for us to do in those conditions,” the 26-year-old told the media at the end of day four.
With John Campbell and Shai Hope scoring centuries, the West Indians managed to accumulate a total of 390 and last 118.5 overs in their second innings after following on. From Washington’s perspective, patience is paramount on such decks.
“On this kind of a wicket, you just need to be a lot more patient and hit those areas more consistently. That’s the challenge. It’s very heartening to have actually taken 20 wickets as a team on a wicket like this,” he added.