India defeated Australia 2-1 in the five-match series under Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership after the fifth T20I was washed out due to rain at the Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday, November 8. Just a day later,
the official Instagram account of the Indian cricket team shared a video of the behind the scenes (BTS) from the dressing room wherein Washington Sundar got the “Impact Player of the Series” award from operations manager Rahil Khaja.
Notably, Washington Sundar played only the two out of three completed matches against Australia in the T20I series, both of which India won to clinch the series eventually. In the third match at Bellerive Oval in Hobart, the left-handed batter scored an unbeaten 49 off 23 with three fours and four sixes after being promoted to No. 6 in pursuit of 187-run target, which they chased down in 18.3 overs with five wickets in hand.
Watch the video here:
In the next T20I at the Carrara Oval in Carrara, the right-arm off spinner scored 12 off 7 with two fours before registering figures of 3/3 in 1.2 overs when captain brought him into the attack late on in defense of a competitive total of 167 runs, winning by 48 runs. After receiving the medal with a smile on his face, Washington Sundar said to the cameras, “Coming over here and getting an opportunity to play in Australia is amazing, and to have contributed to the team’s victory makes me definitely happy.
It's such a great feeling to get this medal from him: Washington Sundar on Rahil Khaja
Moreover, Washington Sundar was also heard thanking Rahil Khaja for his contributions behind the curtain, which makes it possible for him and the Indian cricket team to perform at their best day in and day out. He remarked, “It's such a great feeling to get this medal from him. We know the kind of work he (Rahil Khaja) puts in every single day to make a lot of our jobs very easy.”
Just a few days from now, Washington Sundar will be in line to play in the first Test of the two-match series against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday, November 14.
