Former England captain Nasser Hussain was left baffled as to why India did not opt to use off-spinner Washington Sundar earlier in the innings as Ben Stokes’ men kept piling on the misery against a hapless seam attack in Manchester on Friday. Hussain hailed the craft of the Tamil Nadu spinner who instantly made an impact after being called up to bowl late in the innings.
England turbocharged past India’s first-innings 358 as each of their top-4 batters recorded over 70 runs for the first time in an innings in 77 years, with No. 4 veteran Joe Root converting his 38th Test ton into a 16th 150-plus Test score. However, India captain Shubman Gill was reluctant to use Sundar until the 69th over.
Sundar’s guile and adept usage of prodigious drift through the air helped India crack a 144-run stand between Ollie Pope and Root for the third wicket. Sundar lured Pope outside the off-stump with a hard push away from the body, before being pouched swiftly by KL Rahul at first slip. Sundar then castled Harry Brook with another magical delivery, deceiving the batter with flight and drift as the batter charged down the track before being stumped by Dhruv Jurel.
#Sundar’s got the golden touch today! ✨
Two quick wickets and #HarryBrook is walking back.#ENGvIND 👉 4th TEST, DAY 3 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar 👉 https://t.co/l55AM1kN1p pic.twitter.com/rzqEloNjC9
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 25, 2025
Hussain also lamented Gill’s decision to bowl seam spearhead Jasprit Bumrah from the bowling end that offered minimal bounce, alongside delaying Sundar’s introduction.
“Ben Stokes got his five-for from the Brian Statham End, where there is extra bounce, yet Jasprit Bumrah did most of his bowling from Sir James Anderson end. Then, when the sun did come out after tea on day two and the pitch did get flatter, they completely overlooked bowling Washington Sundar, not turning to him until the 69th over when England were 305 for two,” wrote Hussain in his DailyMail column.
‘No spinner has ever…'</h2?
“It was astonishing. You could tell he was full of confidence by the way he spoke so boldly about winning at Lord’s, after taking four wickets, and I haven’t seen a spin bowler in England get such beautiful drift, even against the wind. He made an impact, the moment he was introduced to the attack, getting Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in quick succession, leaving you wondering: where he’s been?'”
Sundar, who bagged an economic four-wicket haul at Lord’s, ended the day as India’s most successful bowler, conceding 57 runs in 19 overs for the two scalps as England raised their lead to 186 by stumps.
