"Washington Sundar has the biggest contribution in taking India to this position" - Saba Karim lauds spinner's spell in ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former India player Saba Karim has lauded Washington Sundar for bowling a penetrative spell with the old ball in England's second innings of the third Test. He opined that the spin-bowling all-rounder was the biggest contributor in keeping India in the game heading into the final day.

Washington registered figures of 4/22 in 12.1 overs to help India bowl England out for 192 on Day 4 (Sunday, July 13) at Lord's. The visitors ended the day at 58/4 in their second innings, needing 135 more runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Saba praised Washington for making the most of his height and deceiving the batters with drift and trajectory to ensure that India have a chance to win the Lord's Test.

"Washi Sundar has a massive height advantage, and we saw that in this spell. His height allows him to bowl with control. There is another reason why he succeeds in deceiving batters. One is that Washington Sundar got the most drift among the spinners, and secondly, he beats the batters with his trajectory," the former India wicketkeeper-batter said. "Why did Jamie Smith play a full ball on the back foot? It was because of the trajectory. From the 35th to the 80th over is the best phase for a batter because the ball becomes soft. The spell he bowled there, it was a very critical phase of this match. We are still saying that India can win this game, and Washington Sundar has the biggest contribution in taking India to this position," he added.

Washington Sundar dismissed Joe Root (40 off 96), Jamie Smith (8 off 14), Ben Stokes (33 off 96) and Shoaib Bashir (2 off 9). All four of them were bowled as England were bundled out for 192 after being comfortably placed at 154/4.

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"That was a massive breakthrough" - Hemang Badani on Washington Sundar's dismissal of Joe Root on Day 4 of ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Joe Root was bowled while attempting a sweep off Washington Sundar's bowling. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, former India batter Hemang Badani noted that Washington Sundar gave the visitors a huge breakthrough by dismissing Joe Root before getting rid of the dangerous Jamie Smith.

"That (Joe Root's wicket) was a massive breakthrough. Joe Root and Ben Stokes were forging a good partnership, and he gave a breakthrough there. After that, he took Jamie Smith's wicket. Everyone knows that Jamie Smith has batted very well in this series," he said.

The Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach added that Ben Stokes' wicket was equally important, highlighting the England skipper's match-winning abilities.

"All four wickets were important because Ben Stokes is a clutch player. He always wins such kinds of games. His recent form might not have been good, but one is always afraid when Ben Stokes is batting. The wickets he picked up, he kept things very simple," Badani observed.

To conclude, Hemang Badani pointed out that Washington Sundar was looking to spin some balls and looking to just drift the others. He added that the off-spinner didn't leave the stumps and was bowling absolutely the right length.

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Edited by Kartik Iyer