'He was feeling pressure to score big...': Ex-India star lashes out at Sai Sudharsan after failure in 1st West Indies Test

Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel was critical of Sai Sudharsan for not being able to play a big knock in the first Test against West Indies. The left-hander was dismissed for just seven runs on Day 1 and failed to give a significant contribution with the bat. Notably, Sudharsan had made his red-ball debut during India's previous series against England but had struggled to live upto expectations, scoring just 147 runs in seven innings.

Patel stated that Sudharsan was under a lot of pressure to score big in order to secure the No.3 position in the batting order. He advised the latter to stay calm and wait for his chance to pounce on loose deliveries.

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“Sai Sudharsan looked a bit tentative today. He usually uses his feet really well, especially against left-arm spinners. With left-handed batters, we know that as soon as a left-arm spinner comes in, we try to rotate the strike and wait for the right ball to go after. But I thought Sai Sudharsan was probably feeling a bit of pressure to score big runs and secure that number three position. He just needs to stay calm," Patel said on Star Sports.

India undoubtedly the better team on Day 1

Meanwhile, despite Sudharsan's failure, India ended up ending Day 1 on a positive note thanks to a half-century from KL Rahul. The hosts began the second day on a high as Rahul ended up reaching triple figures. This was his 11th hundred in the longest format and it came after he had faced 190 deliveries. This saw the Karnataka batter end a 9-year wait to score a Test century in India.

India's dominance with the bat continues

Rahul was assisted well by captain Shubman Gill from the other end as he scored a valiant half-century. The duo formed a big partnership of 98 runs to see the hosts almost reach the 200-run mark. However, while Rahul was dismissed for exactly 100 runs, Gill departed for exactly 50. The Men in Blue got restricted to 218/4 at one stage, but a massive stand between Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja saw them cross the 300-run mark comfortably. The second session of Day 2 concluded with Jurel unbeaten on 68 and Jadeja batting on 50 as India took a 164-run lead with the hosts at 326/4.