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Indian offspinner Washington Sundar on Thursday reflected on Pune's pitch after the end of Day 1 of the second Test match against New Zealand and said that the bowlers had to give more speed to the ball.
Washington Sundar displayed a stupendous performance on the first day and led the Indian bowling attack. He picked up seven wickets in his 24-over spell at an economy rate of 2.50. Speaking at the press conference after Day 1, Sundar said that he usually doesn't change much in his techniques. The Indian spinner added that the team management expected there would be something in the pitch for the spinners. "The ball became very soft. So we had to give more speed to the ball. That was something me and Ash kept talking about. I mean, he said it like that himself in the spell after lunch. That's how he got Conway out as well. We spoke about it and were glad I was able to do it as well. Yes, I didn't actually change too many things. On this wicket, we expected there would be something for the spinners and I really wanted to hit the right areas against different batters," Sundar said. After winning the toss, New Zealand decided to bat against India in the second Test in Pune. New Zealand were bowled out for 259 in the first innings on day one following Washington Sundar's seven-wicket haul. Devon Conway (76 runs from 141 balls, 11 fours) and Rachin Ravindra (65 runs from 105 balls, 5 fours and 1 six) were the star performers for the Kiwis as they took the visitors to 259 in the first inning. Sundar's scalps included the in-form Rachin Ravindra who had played a key role in New Zealand's win in the first encounter, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee and Ajaz Patel. Sundar was drafted into India's squad for the remaining two Tests against the Blackcaps on the back of his stunning performance in the Ranji game against Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Apart from Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin bagged three wickets and bundled out New Zealand on day one itself. India had a sloppy start to their first inning as Rohit Sharma was dismissed in the third over. Tim Southee bowled out the India skipper's wicket. At Stumps on Day 1, India are 16/1 with Shubman Gill (10*) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (6*) unbeaten on the crease. After Day 1, India trailed by 243 runs. (ANI)
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