He got 87, but B. Sai Sudharsan wanted much more.
Coming in at No. 3, the left-handed batter played a fine innings on the opening day of the second Test against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Friday. However, the 23-year-old missed out on a maiden Test hundred after he was trapped in front of the stumps by Jomel Warrican.
“I am definitely grateful for whatever I’ve done today (Friday), but there’s always a monkey in our mind that wants more, wants that hundred and so I was looking forward to a lot more,” Sudharsan, whose 165-ball innings had 12 fours, said after the day’s play.
The batter was under some pressure, having missed out in the first Test in Ahmedabad. Overall, he is yet to make a big score since making his Test debut in England earlier this year.
In a second-wicket stand of left-handers, Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal made 193 runs. Sudharsan said he was looking to bat freely in this innings.
“It was a good contribution and very good partnership with Jaiswal. I was not thinking about getting runs, I was a bit more free and I expressed a bit better in this innings.
“I was able to take a bit more time and let things happen instead of trying to make things happen.
“It’s fascinating and so thrilling to watch him (Jaiswal) from the other end. He plays a lot of exciting shots. He converts a lot of good balls into boundaries. He’s giving me more awareness... I am learning a lot more and being more aware of what shots to play if I want to convert good balls into runs,” Sudharsan said.