NEW DELHI: Some eyebrows were raised when Washington Sundar replaced Kuldeep Yadav in the Indian starting XI for the second Test against him New Zealand This started on Thursday Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.
After playing his last Test of 2021 against England, Sundar made his comeback to the Indian team.

New Zealand were 32/1 after 8 overs when Sundar was brought into the attack by Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
Sundar bowled six overs in his first over but was wicketless in his second over too.
Ravichandran Ashwin had now taken three wickets and the Kiwis were 197/3 after 59 overs when Sundar was brought back into the attack for the third time.
And on the first ball of this spell, Sundar bowled the last Test centurion clean Rachin Ravindra with the beauty of a delivery.
The throw rolled around the wicket, drifted up and down, landed about a length and turned sharply. Ravindra came forward but was unable to cover it with his front foot and was on defense as he spun over the edge before clipping the off-stump.

Sundar got better with each over and ended his career with a career best of 7/59, defeating New Zealand by 259 runs in his first innings.
Five of Sundar's seven dismissals were bowled cleanly as he put in a demonstration of drift and dip on a pitch that also required some turns.
Sundar, who returned with a class-leading effort of 7/59, led the team off the field and turned the game on its head.
Not only was this the first five wickets for Sundar in the Test, but also his first ever in first-class cricket since August 2022 and the first in first-class cricket on Indian soil since October 2017.