His second-wicket partnership with Kerala’s Nikhin Jose (53 off 64 balls) of 99 runs literally ended Pakistan’s hopes of a comeback.
Sudharsan, who was just as good in the game against Nepal the previous evening, made 10 boundaries as well as three sixes. His batting on both sides of the wicket was simply superb once he was on the field. The most impressive aspect of his game was the nearly 40 singles he made to keep the strike spin going.
Credit must be given to captain Yash Dhull (21 not out off 19 balls) who allowed Sudharsan to get the boundary by giving him the bulk of the strike during their 53-run stand.
When two balls were required for victory and his century, Sudharsan struck Dahani with a graceful six over extra cover to end the game.
I was concentrating more on risk-free runs. Focused on singles and twos and reduced the number of spot kicks. Against spinners it was a tricky and difficult pitch. It was better to play against fast bowlers, Sudharsan said after the match.
However, Hangarghekar and left-arm spinner Manav Sutar (3/36 in 10 overs) also deserve equal praise for containing the Pakistani players as none of them even reached fifty overs.
Had Qasim Akram (48) and Mubasir Khan (28) not added 53 for the seventh wicket, the Pakistan team’s final score would not have gotten that