Team India faced a heartbreaking defeat in the second ODI of the series against Bangladesh on Wednesday. Chasing a 272-run target in Dhaka, India came close to a memorable win when Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel stitched a strong 102-run stand, and again when Rohit Sharma braved a thumb injury in an attempt to prevent a defeat. However, India eventually fell short by five runs as Rohit failed to smash a six on the last delivery of the match.
However, the side has had a few positives from the series; one of them being the bowling performance from Washington Sundar. In the second ODI, the young all-rounder bowled out his 10-over quota and conceded only 37 runs, while taking three key wickets – including those of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, the stalwarts of the Bangladesh batting lineup.
In the pre-match press conference ahead of the final ODI of the series, Sundar spoke on multiple topics related to the Indian team's outing, as well as his own performances for the side. A reporter asked the question about India's series loss against Bangladesh, terming it ‘very unusual’ and further asked the “situation in the dressing room” following the defeat, to which Sundar had a rather composed response.
“Every game is an opportunity to keep getting better and get the right rhythm and perform well as a team. There's not going to be many games, so every game is very important for us. We are going to play good brand of cricket, we are going to keep improving no matter who we play. Our job is to play to our potential and to keep getting better wherever we have to. That's the mindset we are in, and we keep looking at improving, wherever that might be,” Sundar said.
{{/usCountry}}“Every game is an opportunity to keep getting better and get the right rhythm and perform well as a team. There's not going to be many games, so every game is very important for us. We are going to play good brand of cricket, we are going to keep improving no matter who we play. Our job is to play to our potential and to keep getting better wherever we have to. That's the mindset we are in, and we keep looking at improving, wherever that might be,” Sundar said.
{{/usCountry}}The all-rounder also stated during the presser that he wants to remain ready for any role in the Indian team in the format, and further admitted that he was disappointed to have missed the past two T20 World Cup editions due to fitness issues.