Buttler: Sundar’s Words Fueled England’s Victory

England’s wicketkeeper-batsman, Jos Buttler, revealed on Tuesday that comments made by Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar served as motivation for the English team on the decisive final day of the third Test match. This Test was part of the recent five-match series held at Lord’s.

At the close of play on the fourth day, India stood at 58/4, pursuing a target of 193 runs. The conditions were challenging, with the pitch increasingly favoring fast bowlers.

During a post-day interview, Sundar confidently asserted that India would secure the win swiftly, likely in the first session itself.

Sundar’s Prediction

“India will definitely win tomorrow, probably in the first session,” Sundar stated.

However, his forecast proved inaccurate as India suffered a narrow 22-run loss in the final session, despite a resilient half-century from Ravindra Jadeja.

Following the captivating match, Jos Buttler shared his thoughts on Sundar’s declaration, suggesting it might have ignited a fire within the English players.

“Did he really say that?” Buttler questioned, referring to Sundar’s interview where he spoke of India winning and going 2-1 up. “I wondered if he simply misspoke, hoping, of course, that we would win.”

He continued, “It was an incredible display of confidence, declaring, ‘Yeah, we’re going to win.’ In today’s world, nothing goes unnoticed. Someone in the dressing room was bound to hear about it.”

“It was as if, instead of anyone needing to say anything to motivate England this morning, they could have just played that interview. It would have fired everyone up,” he added.

Buttler also noted that Sundar’s remarks seemed to have an effect on England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, who was seen urging his players to intensify their efforts against Sundar when he came to bat.

“There’s a brief moment when Washington came out to bat, and McCullum, from the balcony, was clearly encouraging everyone to raise their game, singling out the guy who had been talking,” Buttler elaborated.

“You set yourself up, don’t you? It’s a tough spot to be in. You think, ‘Everyone’s coming after me now.’ I could have just come out and tried to play well, do my best. But now, everyone knows what I said in the media last night, and everyone’s targeting me. Even McCullum, who usually has his feet up, was leaning forward, urging the team on,” he concluded.