All-rounder Saransh Jain made his international cricket debut for India in the second Test match against Sri Lanka in Colombo. On a spin-friendly pitch, Jain struggled to make an impact, taking only three wickets while conceding 167 runs. His performance drew attention from former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who suggested that nerves may have affected Jain’s play in his first match for the national team.
Sunil Gavaskar said the player could have been nervous as it was his first game for the country.
“The debutant off-spinner looked an honest trier with little variety to trouble batters at this level. The legendary batter also slammed India’s poor bowling in the game, which saw Sri Lanka pull off a shocking draw. The result significantly dented India’s World Test Championship final hopes. “If they couldn’t dismiss the lower-order batters on a pitch where there was some turn, it does make Indian cricket fans a bit nervous. There was a sameness to the bowling. On a pitch that got slower as the match progressed, the fast bowlers struggled to get the ball up towards the batters’ shoulders. India dropped Kuldeep Yadav for the second game, bringing in Saransh Jain.
The Shubman Gill-led side looked set to win the game after securing a 213-run first-innings lead and enforcing follow-on, but Sri Lanka made a remarkable comeback, especially through the lower order, to end the game in a draw. The Lankans reached 429/9 in their second innings, taking a lead of 216 runs, when the match was called off.
Sure, he could have been nervous considering that he was making his debut, yet there was no deception through the air and an over-reliance on the pitch for assistance,” Gavaskar told Mid-Day . Here, perhaps the extra pace and height of Gurnoor Brar may well have come in handy,” said Gavaskar.
