"96 not out is better than 96 out or 100 out" - Coach Senthilnathan's words of advice for Washington Sundar

When Mohammed Siraj was castled by Ben Stokes to signal the end of India's dominating first innings total on the third day of the fourth and final Test against England in Ahmedabad last Saturday, Washington Sundar was left stranded on 96. It was his third half-century in Tests, after 62 on his debut and 85* in his second Test in Chennai, his home ground.

There was no emotion on Sundar’s face, neither frustration nor anger or any other sort of expression at not getting the opportunity to reach his maiden Test century in only his fourth appearance.

He witnessed Axar Patel being run out for 43 at the bowler’s end off the last ball of an over, breaking their 106-run partnership for the eighth wicket. No.10 batsman Ishant Sharma was trapped leg before first ball and Siraj was left to survive five balls, or somehow steal a single to give Sundar the strike and hand him the opportunity to reach his well-deserved century.

But Siraj was bowled by a tired Stokes for a third-ball duck, leaving Sundar a hit away from the three-figure mark. Sundar played an equally-important knock as that of Rishabh Pant (101), sharing a 113-run stand for the seventh wicket which was followed up with another century stand along with Patel.

Staying calm in any situation has been the hallmark of Sundar ever since he was taken to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai as a 13-year-old by his cricket-loving father and left under the guidance of former Tamil Nadu batsman M Senthilnathan.

Washington Sundar (L) with coach M Senthilnathan

Sundar played the MRF Pace Foundation pacers with ease, a trait that impressed Senthilnathan immediately. Such was Sundar's talent that he was given a chance to play straightaway in the highly-competitive Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) first division league.

Senthilnathan has moulded Sundar into the cricketer that he is today and encouraged the 21-year-old left-handed batsman to continue bowling off-spin at his MRF nets in Chennai. He was not surprised at Sundar’s lack of emotions on missing out on a Test century.

“I had a brief chat after the Test match with him and told him, ‘96 not out is much better than 96 out or even 100 out’,” Senthilnathan told Sportskeeda in an exclusive chat from Chennai. “He could have got out going for his century. He replied ‘No problem, sir. They (Ishant and Siraj) tried their best’."

"He did not let that bother him. He was not disappointed. He feels he will get it the next time. It was destiny that he did not get his century. Stokes bowled two good balls to remove Ishant and Siraj. My belief, and what I have learnt from my seniors including former India batsman Brijesh Patel, is that if you come back to the pavilion not out, your confidence is higher than when you are out. When you are not out, it is a battle won as the opposition could not get you out.”

The 52-year-old Senthilnathan compared Sundar to an old-fashioned cricketer, those from yesteryear who would not display their emotions on the field.

“He is the same whether he is beaten, hits a four or a six, or gets a hundred. No emotions, no answering back. It will be difficult for the opponents to have a go at him. These are very good qualities to play at a higher level. Washington shows his aggression from inside by staying long at the crease."

Reminiscing the day when the senior Sundar brought a 13-year-old lanky Washington to the MRF nets, Senthilnathan, captain of the Indian team for the first ICC under-19 World Cup in Australia in 1988, said -

“His father played with me in the TNCA league. He said to me, ‘Senthil, I want you to take a look at my son. If you look at him, you will like him’. Within a couple of minutes, I saw something in that boy. Initially, I feared that he may get hit by the MRF PF fast bowlers, who are among the 20 best pacers in the country and are fast for a 13-year-old. But, after he played two-three deliveries, he was very cool."

Senthilanathan added -

"He did not nick them. He had enough time to play the deliveries. His biggest quality was the way he approached them. That lazy elegance, which we usually associate with David Gower or WV Raman, will come when you have enough time to play the ball. He did not face any difficulty facing the pacers nor was he tensed in playing them.”

"Washington Sundar showed his quality from day 1" - Senthilnathan

Sundar’s early days at MRF PF have held him in good stead, considering that he was up against the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood on his Test debut in Brisbane.

Not one to be fazed by the opposition, Sundar kept his cool to play a crucial role in India's win, sharing a 123-run stand for the seventh wicket with Shardul Thakur. In the process, Sundar became only the third Indian to take three wickets in an innings and score a fifty on Test debut after Dattu Phadkar and Hanuma Vihari. Sundar’s approach to batting impressed the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who said on air that the youngster batted as if he has played many Tests.

It wasn’t that Sundar went to MRF PF to become a fast bowler. Nor was his a story of a fast bowler converted into an off-spinner. MRF has boasted of being a strong TNCA first division league team for ages and has a net for their players alongside the Pace Foundation nets. Sundar went there wanting to be a top-order batsman and bowled off-spin in the league team nets.

Senthilnathan, currently chief coach of the MRF PF, said -

“When pace bowlers are bowling, you need quality batsmen to face them. Otherwise, the bowlers will look deadly. Washington showed his quality from the first day. Over a period of time, we have had batsmen like Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar and Sachin Tendulkar come and bat in our nets."

"We get the best fast bowlers from the country. Even the Indian team used to come and prepare here at times. As a batsman, you will definitely improve. In Australia, Washington was never troubled. Batting on the MRF PF grassy and bouncy pitches against those pace bowlers made it easier in Australia.”

Senthilnathan was so pleased with Sundar’s fearless approach that he was given a chance to play in the first division team at a very early age.

“Washington had a lot of time to play the bowlers. I straightaway played him in the first division, making him the youngest at 13. I did have some seniors in the side say that it was too early to play him in the first division. But I told them that I was 200 per cent sure he was going to play for the country."

"Sundar will be deadly on turning tracks"

Senthilnathan gave Sundar opportunities to play in national tournaments, the BCCI Corporate tournament and in the Moin-ud-Dowla tournament in Hyderabad.

“I tried to give him as much exposure as possible. If I remember right, in his first Moin-ud-Dowla match, he took seven wickets and scored a century. He was bowling off-spin and I told him never ever stop bowling off spin.”

Senthilnathan was the chairman of the TN selection committee until before Covid and made Sundar bat at the top of the order in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Sundar's ability to bat at the top of the order was something that Indian head coach Ravi Shastri mentioned on Sunday when he went on to say that he will try and get the TN selectors to play Sundar in the top four regularly.

While he did speak a lot about the youngster's batting, Senthilnathan spoke highly about Sundar’s off-spin. Sundar has often operated in the powerplay stages in T20Is, and has more often than not finished with economic figures. Sundar has the third best economy rate among Indian bowlers in T20Is, with his 6.95 behind Harbhajan Singh (6.20) and Jasprit Bumrah (6.66).

Senthilnathan said -

“Sundar can be deadly on turning tracks. It is just bad luck that we could not see him bowl in the Chennai and Ahmedabad Tests. He will be deadly on turning tracks, and when you have R Ashwin and Axar Patel bowling out the opposition, the third spinner will be under-bowled. I am waiting for the day when he gets to bowl on turning tracks, and he will be dangerous. He has height, can be quick and has bounce. You have to keep bowling and look at him as an all-rounder.”

Senthilnathan attributed Sundar’s success in T20Is to the youngster ensuring that he sticks to the basics and keeps away from trying too many variations.

“He is a guy who can bowl line and length consistently and adjust his length quickly. One good thing is that he does not have too many variations. If you have variations, you keep trying too many things and lose control, go for runs aplenty. Washington has very minimal variation. For 24 balls, that’s more than enough."

"People who have too many variations will go for too many runs. You have to be at your best, you cannot master every variation ball. His strength is length and line. He bowls within his limitations and adjusts the line and length very quickly.”

Senthilnathan and Sundar are in constant touch. Given the young all-rounder's growth over the years, Senthilnathan has even made Sundar the captain of the first division team.

“I wanted to get him that experience. He takes responsibility. Whenever there is a TNCA game, he will play, likes to win. If has returned from an international assignment, he is soon at the ground. He is very disciplined. He will not keep himself away from the action.”

Senthilnathan is excited to see his ward's performance in the next assignment, given that Sundar has been picked in India's T20I squad for the 5-match T20I series starting in Ahmedabad on Friday.