'Gauti bhai has always made me understand...': Washington Sundar credits Gambhir and GT coach Ashish Nehra after 1st ODI fifty since 2022

In the ODI series opener against England, Washington Sundar was slotted to bat ahead of KL Rahul at no.5. Sundar had to walk out to bat after skipper Shubman Gill left the field retired hurt. Soon after, Rahul fell for a single-digit score. But, Sundar and Axar Patel ensured that India register a comprehensive win to take 1-0 lead in the series. Sundar finished the run chase with a six, getting to his second ODI fifty and first since November 2022. After his first fifty after 17 ODI innings, the all-rounder credited India head coach Gautam Gambhir and Gujarat Titans (GT) head coach Ashish Nehra for helping him understand his game and putting faith in his skills.

"I am so grateful that people have always had faith in my skill sets. Here. Gauti bhai has always made understand what exactly I could do with the bat. And eve Ashish Nehra in GT, he has always made sure...he has helped me understand myself a lot more, bet it as a person or as a cricketer on the whole,” Sundar said in the post-match press conference.

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“I am grateful that I have got such people around me who are helping me to become a better cricketer every single day.”

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Sundar’s partnership with Axar

Sundar contributed with four overs and conceded just 13 runs. With the bat, he scored 52 runs from 63 balls, featuring four fours and a six. He shared a 102-run partnership with Axar Patel who was named 'Player of the match'.

This was India's ninth 100-plus partnership for the fifth wicket against England in ODIs. Also, the fifth 100-plus partnership for the fifth wicket while chasing in the format against the English.

When was the last time Sundar scored a fifty?

Sundar's maiden ODI fifty was in an away game as well. In November 2022, he scored 51 runs from 64 balls as India were bowled out for 219. The game couldn't produce a result after rain interruptions. Since then, his high score was 37 against Bangladesh in December 2022. Since Gambhir took over as head coach, Sundar has got to the 30-run mark only once.

Sundar's numbers in ODIs

Sundar has played 33 ODIs so far and scored 443 runs from 22 innings, averaging 23.31. His ODI strike rate is 82.95.

With the ball, he has 30 wickets, averaging 30.53. In the last seven ODIs, he has managed to take just one wicket which came against Afghanistan in Lucknow previous month.