Washington Sundar explains what Riyan Parag said before Jonathan Campbell's wicket: 'It would be fantastic if I could get a catch.'
Sundar's wickets at vital moments in the game earned him the Player of the Match title. His performance provided India with a 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series.
Washington Sundar, an Indian off-spinner, took three wickets in the third T20I between India and Zimbabwe on Wednesday. After the game, the 24-year-old disclosed his interaction with Riyan Parag before Sundar claimed his second wicket, Johnathan Campbell.
"Riyan Parag informed me just before the ball that he hoped to get a catch because he had come in as a substitute. "It was great for me to execute in that vein," Sundar said after the game.
Sundar pitched up a delivery that left-handed Campbell attempted to smash through off-side, but he caught the outside edge and the ball went straight to replacement fielder Parag at slip.
Campbell's wicket came in the second over for Sundar. He struck Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza with the second ball taken at the boundary by Rinku Singh. Zimbabwe's pursuit was broken when two wickets fell in the same over.
"The first wicket went to Sikandar Raza. I thought he'd go big from the first ball, and I'm delighted I got him out. Even with the last one, I really wanted to go wide because I knew he'd look enormous on the on-side," Sundar said.
The off-spinner would return later in the 17th over to pick off Clive Madande, who, together with Dion Myers, had stitched a 77-run stand, giving Zimbabwe a ray of hope as they chased 183 runs.
"It did put a lot of pressure on us and we wanted to execute our plans the best we can to restrict them," Sundar told me.
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