Washington Sundar reminded the world of his talents on Sunday after the left-hander put on a show at Uppal. Chasing 153 to win on a tricky surface, Sundar, batting at No.4, answered his side’s call with his IPL career best in the SRH vs GT in Hyderabad.
One of the bright talents in Indian cricket, Washington has warmed benches in the IPL, playing a grand total of 9 matches in total in the last two seasons. Even in IPL 2025, Sundar started on the bench before coach Nehra handed him the responsibility to fix Titans’ wobbly middle order on Sunday.
𝗪𝗢𝗪
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 6, 2025
Washington Sundar is up and running on his #GT debut
Updateshttps://t.co/Y5Jzfr6Vv4#TATAIPL | #SRHvGT | @Sundarwashi5 | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/04H2ZirBou
With Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler back in the hut, Sundar was thrown in the middle against Pat Cummins and Co. The left-hander took the opportunity with both hands, striking a few boundaries to get going. While GT were struggling and scoring at less than 5 an over, Sundar ensured they finished the powerplay strongly. The TN all-rounder took a toll on Simarjeet Singh, smashing 20 runs with a couple of fours and six.
First time so nice, had to do it twice
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) April 6, 2025pic.twitter.com/b76Sisgsyg
Washington was a real thorn in the flesh of his former side, building a promising partnership with captain Shubman Gill. While the opener played the anchor role, Sundar took the pressure with some attacking intent to fall one short of his maiden IPL fifty.
His knock only ended after a moment of controversy. Sundar hooked Mohammed Shami in the 14th over, with Aniket Verma putting in a diving effort to make the catch. While the replays did not clearly show a clean catch taken, the umpires sided with Sunrisers to deny Sundar a maiden IPL fifty.
Sundar’s road to IPL prominence again?
Washington Sundar first broke into the IPL as a teenager in 2017, playing for the Rising Pune Supergiant. However, his career has since failed to take off, with stints at RCB and SRH before his IPL 2025 move to the Gujarat Titans.
While a regular in India’s plans across formats, the 25-year-old has struggled to break into the IPL XI over the years. With the impact player rule, Sundar’s all-round ability and value got further diminished.
However, in Gujarat, Sundar has an opportunity to impose himself. The Titans have long struggled for a stable middle-order batter, and the departure of David Miller has furthered that void. A career-best score on debut is a good way to allay those concerns, and coach Nehra will be pleased that his faith in Sundar the batter is starting to pay off.
