
Sai Sudharsan got off to a nervous start to his innings on day one of the fourth England-India Test at Old Trafford. Sanjay Manjrekar put it down to self-doubt after being "unfairly" dropped following his debut.
Sudharsan was handed a debut in the first match of the series at Headingley. Batting at No.3, the left-hander fell for a duck in the first innings before looking assured for his 30 in the second. However, he was dropped for the second Test as the team decided to go with with the returning Karun Nair instead.
Nair was promoted to No.3 for the second and third Tests at Edgbaston and Lord's, but couldn't reach a fifty despite getting off to starts. That made the visitors go back to Sudharsan for the fourth Test in Manchester.
Also read: Dropped after Test debut: Five Indians to suffer the fate before Sai Sudharsan
Sudharsan came in to bat at the end of the 30th over after KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal had added 94 for the first wicket. The Tamil Nadu batter took nine balls to get off the mark and made only three off the first 22 deliveries he faced, often defending half-volleys and looking in two minds as to whether to leave or play at balls.
Manjrekar: Sudharsan looked more nervous than he did on debut
Manjrekar, who was on air during the initial phase of Sudharsan's innings, noticed the nervousness in his batting and pointed it out.
"Just going to focus on Sai Sudharsan here, it's a story in itself," said Manjrekar. "[He] played the first Test, batted at No.3, got out very early in the first innings, got a good 30 in the second but he was dropped for the next Test match.
"And they had Karun Nair coming in and batting at No.3 which I was surprised by and I thought was really unfair on a young batter, on whom we have big hopes. He should have got a long rope.
"Now he's come into bat, again, made a comeback into the playing XI, but I'm seeing some nerves here, the way he is batting. He's come with this pre-conceived mindset that he's going to leave everything outside off, which is not a bad thing to happen but there were a couple of very overpitched deliveries and some very close to the stumps that he left alone.
"And I really think when you have a young player to deal with, these are things you've got to be mindful of. They come with a very fragile kind of confidence. Just one Test match, dropped - would not have helped his confidence. He's come back into this Test and looking really nervous. Much more than he did in his debut Test match I think.
"This last ball, if you see this last ball. It's right under his bat and he's not really reacted the way he would normally do. Just drive this down the pitch for four. Very good player. He's just come in thinking defence. And you can completely understand that with a young player who's come with a lot of self doubts."
Sudharsan was batting on 14 off 50 balls when he drove Liam Dawson for a boundary through covers. While he only scored eight runs off his next 26 deliveries before the tea break, there was seemingly a marked improvement in his comfort and intent at the crease.
He did receive a reprieve though, when Jamie Smith dropped a catch down the leg side in what would have been an action replay of his dismissal in Headingley. India went into tea at 149-3, having lost captain Shubman Gill 10 minutes before the break.
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