For the most part of his cricketing career, Wriddhiman Saha has had to be patient. Take his Test debut against South Africa in 2010 for instance which happened by chance after Rohit Sharma injured himself during practice on the morning of the Test match. Or his second Test that happened two years later in Adelaide. That too happened owing to a suspension for slow over-rate to then captain MS Dhoni.
Saha continued to be on the sidelines, putting up meaningful performances only to become a regular fixture after MS Dhoni’s retirement from Test cricket. The wait had finally come to an end, patience had finally paid off and it was Saha’s turn to shine. Time and again Saha would put up 30s and 40s facing close to a hundred balls holding fort at one end that would almost go unnoticed at times owing to other individual brilliances.
His first Test in his home ground was no different. On a difficult pitch Saha put up two unbeaten half centuries at a time when India were in rumbles - 200/6 in the first innings and 106/6 in the second to be precise. Both times Saha had to battle it out on a difficult pitch with uneven bounce and occasional shooters. Yet, Saha would stand firm, farm the strike at one end, rotate when necessary and even take body blows.
For the team, Saha at the end of the day would have done the job with absolutely no complains. Personal landmarks held least importance for Saha and would laugh it off if he ever thought of centuries during those unbeaten half centuries. The three figure mark just didn’t matter to Saha. “I do not care about centuries, what I care is about the team’s interest and whether my knocks have helped the team,” beamed Saha after receiving the Man of the Match trophy. “I am just happy I could score a couple of half centuries that helped the team’s cause. What is even more pleasing is that fact that it came under difficult situations. I received a lot of support from the other batsmen during those innings.”
But how does Saha manage to excel lower down the order? Saha says he has been in those situations in the past during his days in domestic cricket and that has only helped him in the international scene. “This is not new to me. I have done this right since I played club cricket. When I bat in that position, I only think about giving an equal opportunity to score to the batsman at the other end. I never feel the need to keep the tail-ender safe from strike. It is about giving them confidence and making them feel even they can score runs. It helps me and the confidence of the batsman at the other end.
“If you look at this Test, I had to play foil to Rohit Sharma who was scoring well at that moment. I might have just scored a 30 or 40 in that partnership with him but I do realise that it is invaluable given the situation of the match. 50s and 100s do not matter; sometimes even 30s and 40s are precious.”
Further Saha spoke about his mindset while batting in the second half of the order. “You have to respect each ball and treat it to its merit. The key is to not get too defensive at and put away the loose deliveries. It is important to pick and choose deliveries and make decisions on which ones to attack and which ones to defend. I backed my strength and I am glad I could put up a decent show for the team.”
Captain Virat Kohli had words of praise for Saha too and added that it was a bonus to have your wicket-keeper batsman come good in that batting position. Kohli even went on to say that he was one of the gains in India’s hard fought win in Kolkata. Saha as usual wanted to keep his captain’s words in place and continue his good form going ahead. “I value this Test spot and more importantly it is great to be a part of this team that is playing as a unit. We support each other a lot. It is very important for me to play according to the team’s demands and put up more performances that will help the team. I want to carry on from here and continue putting up such innings in the games to come.”
