London [UK], August 5 : Washington Sundar was declared India's "Impact Player" in the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy for his indispensable all-round contributions ahead of Mohammed Siraj, captain Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and others.
India's tour of England concluded on a dramatic 2-2 series draw on Monday at The Oval in London. India defied the odds, rebuked the win predictions heavily favouring England and stood triumphant with a narrow six-run victory in front of a jam-packed crowd.
In the opening hour of the fifth day of the final Test, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna brought the thunder down in London to derail England's pursuit of the last 35 runs to gun down the daunting 374-run target. Siraj delivered the knockout punch by rattling Gus Atkinson's stumps to seal a 2-2 draw for India.
Raw emotions took over the India players, staff and fans, who tried to grasp the magnitude of India's victory. As the dust settled and the Indian players looked to recharge their batteries before the next assignment, the BCCI shared a heartwarming moment in the dressing room.
During the Impact Player medal awarding ceremony, Jadeja stood up, walked towards the prize and announced the winner. "Washi, come here, take it, son," Jadeja said before picking up the medal and embracing Washington.
Washington was introduced into the team for the second Test at Edgbaston and ended the series with four appearances on the trot. He concluded the series after garnering 284 runs at 47.33, including a fifty and a century each. With the ball, he scythed even wickets with an average over 38, his handy, indicating his handy all-round contributions with the bat and ball.
"Obviously, it is a great blessing to be playing four games on the trot in a place like England. Always wanted to do really well here. And as a team, just the way we went about every single day, it was amazing. I mean the energy that we created, especially from a fielding perspective, we were always there for each other. Thank you so much for everything," Washington said after receiving the medal.
The 25-year-old was one of the silent heroes who contributed to India's famed 2-2 series draw in England. During the third Test at the Home of Cricket, Lord's, he rattled the stumps of England's mainstays Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Jamie Smith and finally Shoaib Bashir to return with figures of 4/22 in 12.1 overs.
In Manchester, he batted for five sessions with the seasoned southpaw Jadeja, and single-handedly ate up 34.3 overs, forcing England to settle for a draw. After Jadeja dispatched the ball into the stands to bring up his ton, Sundar pushed for a double to celebrate his maiden Test century for India and walked back unbeaten on 101(206).
When the series returned to London, Sundar, in his last dance in the series, brought a T20 flavour with his swashbuckling strokplay. He filled London's clouded sky with his fireworks, hammered four boundaries and as many towering sixes to blaze his way to 53(46). His heroic effort towards the end propelled India to 396 in the second innings and set a 374-run target for England to hunt down.