Washington Sundar’s Bold Prediction Backfires as India Fall Short in Dramatic Lord’s Test
India walked into Day 5 at Lord’s with confidence — perhaps too much of it.
Washington Sundar’s bold prediction that the visitors would seal the win ‘probably in the first session’ turned into a haunting soundbite, as England staged a spirited comeback to snatch a 22-run victory and a 2-1 lead in the series.
Washington Sundar’s confident prediction ahead of Day 5 at Lord’s proved premature as what had looked like a promising chase turned into a dramatic collapse.
The match had swung wildly over four days, and going into the final morning, India were favourites to chase down 193. But the top order faltered, and despite Ravindra Jadeja’s valiant unbeaten 61, the visitors were bowled out for 170.
Sundar, who was interviewed by Sky Sports ahead of play, had confidently declared that India would wrap up the chase early.
‘Definitely India winning tomorrow, probably in the first session,’ he had said.
That statement didn’t age well. India struggled right from the outset of Day 5, losing wickets at regular intervals and failing to mount a sustained fightback. Sundar himself fell for a four-ball duck to Jofra Archer, coming in at a crucial moment when Jadeja needed support at the other end.
Reflecting on Sundar’s bold words, England former captain Jos Buttler revealed that the comment ended up providing extra fuel for the home side’s fire on the final morning — and even stirred a rare reaction from head coach Brendon McCullum.
‘Has he actually said that? Washington Sundar's interview where he says about, you know, when India win tomorrow, when we go 2-1 up. And I thought, I wonder if he's just sort of, you know, got his words out wrong, you know, hopefully we'll win. But it was the proper, you know, incredible confidence. Yeah, we're going to win. And it's always one of those moments where you're like, you don't miss a thing, do you, in this day and age? Someone will have heard about that in the dressing room. It's almost like instead of anyone having to say anything this morning for England you could have just played that interview and that would have got people so fired up,’ Buttler said on a YouTube show.
He also pointed to a specific moment involving McCullum that captured the mood in the England camp.
‘There's a little clip of when Washington came out to bat and McCullum over the balcony sort of, you know, telling everyone to raise it, it's the guy who's been chirping.’
‘You set yourself up, don't you? It's horrible. But you're like, no, everyone's all over me. I could have just come out here and tried to, you know, have a good game and try my best. But now everyone knows that what I've said in the media last night, and this is going to be, everyone's after me. Even McCullum, who's possibly the only time he didn't have his feet up. He's leant forward to say, come on. Let's ramp it up for this guy,’ Buttler added.
India, reeling at 82 for 7, relied on Jadeja to steer them close. He found brief resistance from Jasprit Bumrah (5 off 54 balls) and Mohammed Siraj (4 off 30), but it wasn’t enough to complete the chase.
In the end, Sundar’s words became an unfortunate subplot to a gripping Test match that saw India come tantalisingly close, only to be denied by England’s late surge and a fired-up dressing room spurred by one overconfident prediction.
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