Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie lauded Washington Sundar for his match-winning knock of 49* off 23 balls in the third T20I at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder's blitzkrieg helped India chase down a 187-run target with nine balls and five wickets to spare against Australia. The Men in Blue drew level in the five-match series at 1-1.
Washington walked out to bat at No. 6 after Axar Patel was dismissed for a 12-ball 17. Gillespie feels that Washington should have
come in to bat at No. 5 instead of Axar. While the former Pakistan coach praised the latter's batting ability, he mentioned that he is more suited to conditions in the subcontinent.
"I don't know why he is batting below Axar Patel. That 49* was absolutely superb. He wasn't intimidated by the Australian seamers and just looked to take it on. They've got a nice batting lineup. I just felt Axar Patel is one or two spots too high in that order. He's a good player, no doubt. But he is probably more suited to subcontinent conditions," Gillespie said on the Fast Bowling Cartel YouTube channel.
Gillespie's former international teammate Glenn McGrath recalled his experience of working with Sundar in Chennai. He said that the 26-year-old has a great attitude, where he backs himself whenever he gets a chance.
"I've spent a little bit of time with Washington Sundar in Chennai when I've been coaching. He has just got a great attitude. He just goes and backs himself when he gets the opportunity," McGrath said.
He's an excitement machine and the anticipation of him walking out can be seen in the last couple of games: Gillespie
Gillespie also commended Abhishek Sharma for his performances in the series. He is the leading run-scorer, having amassed 112 runs in three matches at an average of 37.33 and a strike rate of 167.17.
"He (Abhishek Sharma) just goes out there and is aggressive. He runs at the first ball and just looks to put pressure on the opposition. He's an excitement machine and the anticipation of him walking out can be seen in the last couple of games," said Gillespie (via the aforementioned source).
Damien Fleming, another formidable Australian fast bowler during his time, named Abhishek as the most important batter in the Indian team.
"He's going at about two runs per ball. He hits them to all different angles. I looked up his record. He has hardly played any first-class cricket. He doesn't even play a lot of 50-over domestic cricket and still hasn't played a 50-over game for India. But he's just about their most important batter. This is like the new generation IPL player that just comes in and dominates one form, which is T20 cricket," said Fleming.
