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Graeme Swann has joked that fast bowlers cannot be relied on with the bat after Washington Sundar missed out on a well-deserved century.
The lanky all-rounder was unbeaten on 96 with India having three wickets in hand. After Axar Patel was run out off the last ball of the 114th over, Ben Stokes dismissed Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj in the following over before Sundar could get the strike back.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Swann and Sunil Gavaskar were asked about their expectations from Washington Sundar before the series.
The former England off-spinner responded he had primarily seen the 21-year-old ply his trade for RCB in the IPL. While lauding Sundar for his excellent knock, Swann expressed his disappointment about the southpaw being denied a century.
"I have seen him play a lot of IPL cricket but not too much red-ball cricket. So, I didn't really know what to expect. I have been very very impressed. I feel for him though. Fancy being 96 not out with three wickets left and you barely get to face another ball. Fast bowlers shouldn't be trusted with the bat," said Swann.
Sunil Gavaskar stated that Washington Sundar lived up to his expectations.
"My expectations were exactly what he delivered. My expectations were that he would come and bowl half a dozen to maybe 10 overs every innings, maybe a little bit more if there was a big total put up by England and that down the order he would come in and score very useful runs. We saw that happening in Australia and that's exactly what he has done here in the series against England," said Gavaskar.
Washington Sundar contributed immensely to the Indian team victory: Sunil Gavaskar
The former Indian skipper wants Washington Sundar to not feel disheartened at missing out on a well-deserved ton as he played a significant hand in the team's victory.
"Well not to worry. I will say to him that you have shown that you are capable of batting. Sometimes it is not always a hundred, yes it is a milestone and a personal achievement, but the 85 not out and the 96 not out contributed immensely to the Indian team victory. So I will just tell him to be patient and when you are coming into bat at No.8, its never going to be easy to get a hundred, to get to 96 is really fantastic," concluded Gavaskar.
Washington Sundar has had an excellent start to his Test career. He has amassed 265 runs at an outstanding average of 66.25 in the four Tests he has played.
These runs include match-defining contributions on his debut in Brisbane and the final Test of the recently concluded series against England.
