Sai Sudharsan has much to prove in red-ball cricket. The talented southpaw has played 19 first-class matches and averages touch below 36 despite having 3 hundreds and 4 fifties. By his standards, these numbers aren’t great. But there is something in his that gives hope to the selectors. Two weeks ago, he was selected to play in the Duleep Trophy. To better prepare for what’s about for the domestic competition, he travels back to England and plays in the County Championship.
Sudharsan had played one match for the Surrey County Cricket Club in June against Surrey. After playing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), he decided to skip the Buchi Babu Tournament and instead play in Division One of County Cricket to prepare for the Duleep Trophy.
Sai Sudharsan comes good for Surrey
He failed to perform against Lancashire but has come good for Surrey against Nottingham at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. Playing in a stacked side with international players like Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Ben Foakes and Will Jacks, Sudharsan was pushed down to bat at number six. The talented southpaw, who’s an opener by trade, needed little to no time to adjust.
Coming in to bat with Surrey in a strong position (308/4), Sudharsan put on a splendid display. Soon after he arrived, his side lost Jacks, who was batting at 59. It looked like they could be bundled out under 400. But, with support from Jordan Clark at the other end, the 22-year-old started to take Surrey from a precarious situation.
He put up a 101-run stand with Clark, and the score sailed past 400 with ease. Sudharsan marched along and took the total past 500 with two wickets still in hand. But he was still nine short of his hundred. Conor McKerr departed for a well-made 32, and Sudharsan was still 3 runs away from his ton. Fearing that he wouldn’t get to his century, he umped his aggressive and hit debutant Farhan Ahmed (Rehan Ahmed’s brother) for a six over long-on to get to the landmark. Three balls later, Farhan got him caught out and ended with a 7-wicket haul.
