Sai Sudharsan was rewarded for his impressive performances in domestic cricket and the IPL when he made his Test debut for India against England on Friday. The debut took place in the first Test match at Leeds, where Indian veteran Cheteshwar Pujara handed him his maiden Test cap. Sai became the 317th cricketer to represent India in Test cricket.
However, his joy was short-lived as he was dismissed for a duck after facing just four balls. With this, he joined the list of players who were out for zero in their very first Test innings.
Sai Sudharsan will now have to wait a bit longer to score his first Test run. India got off to a solid start thanks to a 91-run partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. After Rahul’s dismissal, Sai came in to bat, with expectations high due to his brilliant form in the recently concluded IPL 2025 and consistent domestic performances that earned him a place in the squad.
Unfortunately, just before lunch on Day 1, Ben Stokes dismissed Sai Sudharsan. Sai faced only four balls. Stokes targeted his pads, and while Sai survived a close third-ball attempt, he tried to play the fourth delivery in the same line but ended up giving an easy catch to the wicketkeeper.
With this, Sai Sudharsan became the 29th Indian batter to be dismissed for a duck in his debut Test innings. He is also the sixth Indian since 2000 to be dismissed for zero in his first Test outing. Before him, Umesh Yadav was dismissed for a duck in his debut innings in 2011.