TimesofIndia.com at Milanpur: Head coach on the occasion of the one-off Test against Afghanistan Gautam Gambhir had said that Sai Sudharsan would get a “long rope” and that the management had full confidence in him to succeed at number one. 3. Sidharson, who was relieved twice but fell short of what would have been his first Test century, scored a brilliant 81 runs.India’s No 3 was credited to head coach Gautam Gambhir and the captain. Shabman Gul for their unconditional support.“I mean, it gives a lot of freedom,” Tsai told reporters when asked about the confidence vote in the administration.“It gives a lot of confidence mentally when the coach, the team and the captain support you, support you and want you to do well for the team and win the game. So it’s an honor in the first place. And of course, it gives you a lot more freedom to express yourself and do things instead of thinking about scoring runs or thinking about what you’re going to do next game. Those kinds of ideas never arise because you get a lot of freedom from the team,” he added.Sai Sudharsan was graceful and sharp in equal measure during an engaging innings. He showed his power, with most of his 13 boundaries coming through the mid-wicket region. There was also a partnership of 139 runs for the second wicket with Sudharsan. KL Rahul.The 24-year-old also spoke about his partnership with the veteran opener.“The conversation was more about understanding what was going on, understanding how the wicket was behaving and who was bowling. We weren’t thinking about playing a big role and batting deep. It was more about understanding the conditions. KL is very calm when I bat with him, and he gives a lot of confidence. It really helps as a batsman. He reads the game very well and shares a lot of useful insights that we can use during the innings,” he said.The left-hander, who struggled against spin during the South Africa series, also opened up about the challenge and the mental and technical adjustment he made in the build-up to the game, especially after playing IPL cricket for two-and-a-half months.“Mentally and tactically, for me, it was more about trusting my abilities as a batsman. Tactically, we talked a lot about what we can do to trouble the bowlers and what options we can take to keep the scoreboard moving, to keep the pressure on them and not soak it up and bat for time,” he said.
