Dinesh Karthik admired the resilience and grit on display by Wriddhiman Saha as the Indian wicketkeeper played an important knock in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand. Despite battling pain because of a stiff neck, Saha made a crucial 61 not out to stretch India’s lead to 283.
When Saha walked up to the crease, he was under great scanner. While India found themselves only 152 ahead of the tourists in the third innings, the Bengal cricketer was personally in scrutiny from certain corners for lack of returns with the bat.
Having slipped below the pecking order to Rishabh Pant, Saha had experts and commentators talking about his dip in performances since making a comeback to the side in the winter of 2019 when he got out for just one on Day 2 at Green Park. Plus, the presence of a back-up wicketkeeper KS Bharat also piled on the pressure on him.
But, as he did at his peak, Saha answered his critics brilliantly, scoring a half-century when India desperately needed it.
“What I like about him is that he was again having his back against the wall in this Test. This could have easily been one of his last Test innings because there would have been a lot of pressure to bring Srikar Bharat for the next Test.
“But again I was just happy to see Wriddhiman Saha bat because he’s a solid batter, he’s really good, he’s got a bit of dogfight in him, you know, he fought his way through a stiff neck, changed his stance up, batted differently to what he’s used to but delivered.”
Karthik said on ‘Cricbuzz Chatter’.
The pressure on Saha has piled on for multiple reasons. At a time when Pant, as well as other wicketkeeper-batters, have raised the bar so high, Saha has been more of a keeper than a batter at the Test level.
Also, in his sporadic opportunities since returning to the side from a long hiatus after a shoulder injury, Saha had made only 88 runs before his half-century in Kanpur. The 37-year-old, who played a significant role for the Indian side during the 2015-2017 post-Dhoni transition phase, needs to find ways to make runs whenever he gets his opportunities.
