Sai Sudarshan revealed that the support from head coach Gautam Gambhir gave him the confidence and clarity to play his natural game, as the young batsman repaid that faith by scoring 81 on the opening day of India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan.

On the eve of the match, Gambhir threw his full weight behind the Tamil Nadu left-hander, making it clear that six matches were not enough to assess a player’s potential and insisting that Sudarshan will be given a long rope as India look towards the future.

India vs AFG 1st Test Day 1: highlighted | Achievement:

The team management’s assurances appeared to have the desired effect as Sudarshan played with confidence and intent, helping India recover from the early setback with a crucial 139-run partnership with KL Rahul for the second wicket.

But I am saying The day’s play is over, Sudarshan said that the trust shown by the coach, captain and team management removed the doubts about the selection and allowed him to focus only on contributing to the team.

“I mean, it gives a lot of freedom. It gives so much certainty mentally when the coach, the team and the captain support you, support you and want you to do well for the country. They want you to do well for the team and win games. It’s an honor first of all,” Sudarshan said.

“Obviously, it gives you a lot of freedom to express yourself and do what you can do best, and not have to think, ‘Am I going to play the next game or not?’ Or whatever that type of idea is. This never happens because you have a lot of freedom from the team. “I think it’s a pleasure.”

While Sudarshan’s innings was one of the standout performances of the day, the left-hander immediately acknowledged Rahul’s role in helping him settle in the middle. The pair put on a partnership of 139 runs, with Sudarshan contributing 81 runs before falling short of his century.

According to Sudarshan, the discussion with Rahul was focused on understanding the conditions and staying one step ahead of the bowlers, and not on determining who would take the responsibility of scoring.

He said, “The conversation was about understanding what’s happening, understanding how the wicket is behaving and who is bowling what. With KL bhai, you know, he gives so much composure. When I bat with him, he gives a lot of certainty. It helps as a batsman, and he sees the game very well, so he gives a lot of useful hints that we will use in the game.”

The innings came as India’s batting unit spent considerable time discussing ways to improve against spin after their struggles on turning surfaces in South Africa. Sudarshan revealed that the focus was not just on surviving against the slow bowlers but also on finding scoring opportunities and maintaining pressure on the opponent.

“I think the biggest conversation was on how well we can play spin, how well we can understand conditions and score runs rather than just playing time. Personally, for me, mentally it was about believing in my abilities and what I can do as a batsman.

“And tactically, we were having a lot of conversations about what we can do to unsettle the bowler, what options we can take so that we keep the scoreboard ticking rather than just biding time and playing, where the pressure is always on.”

Afghanistan are expected to rely heavily on their spin attack as the match progresses, with Sudarshan believing that the surface could become more challenging for the batsmen over the next few days.

“I think in the coming days it may start to rotate more regularly and may even slow down a bit. I think given the way it’s behaving right now, it may even slow down and slow down.”

His assessment will be encouraging for India’s bowlers, who are likely to get more support as the Test draws to a close. However, for Sudarshan, the opening day was another important step towards establishing himself at the highest level, rewarded with an innings that justified the faith placed in him publicly by Gambhir before the match.

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