Sai Sudharsan’s much-anticipated Test debut turned into a nightmare on Day 1 of the opening match of the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy 2025, as the young left-hander was dismissed for a duck in a well-planned setup by England skipper Ben Stokes. The 23-year-old, selected ahead of the likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan, was expected to make the most of the opportunity, especially after India’s solid start. But with nerves evident and pressure building, his debut innings lasted only four balls.
Coming in after KL Rahul’s dismissal for 42, Sudharsan walked into a good position with the score at 91/1. But England had done their homework. Stokes employed a packed leg-side field with a leg slip and leg gully, constantly targeting Sudharsan’s pads.
The field placement was deliberate—designed to unsettle the debutant and restrict his natural flick shot. After three watchful deliveries, the fourth one proved too tempting. Sai tried to glance it fine, but the ball brushed his bat and was neatly pouched by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith diving to his right.
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It was a moment that shifted the momentum just before lunch. From a comfortable 91/0, India slipped to 92/2 as England clawed back into the contest. The dismissal left Indian fans divided. While many felt for the young batter and hoped he’d bounce back in the second innings, others questioned the team management’s decision to pick him over more experienced names like Easwaran or Sarfaraz. A few pointed to the “PR pressure” narrative that has surrounded some recent selections.
IPL ka sher, Test mein zero! 😅
Red ball ke aage sabka game alag hi ho jaata hai!#Sudharsan #INDvsENG #TestCricket #RealityCheck pic.twitter.com/2dACtKh3Ke— RAJEEV YADAV (@rajiv_zx) June 20, 2025
Terrible decision to make Sai Sudharsan bat at No. 3 on his Test debut that too in England..
Poor guy. Had to get out on a Duck. Tough luck for him..#INDvsENGTest— Prajakta ~ (@pprja_14) June 20, 2025
The unforgiving nature of Test cricket on display instantly! Sai Sudharsan gets his chance, but falls for a 4-ball duck. Meanwhile, Easwaran, with a lots of domestic runs, watches on. This is the brutal side of big-stage debuts. What are your thoughts on the selection? #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/92hlMqJ873
— Tales Of Cricket (@TalesGoneX) June 20, 2025
I believe sai sudharsan will be one of the greatest batter at the time he retires. Duck on debut inning doesn’t reflects his ability.♥️
— Niswartha SUBEDI (@NiswarthSubedi) June 20, 2025
People are exaggerating over Sai Sudharsan first outing. He has that calibre just be patient folks.
— Alok Ranjan 🇮🇳 (@itsalokranjan) June 20, 2025
One rare failure from sai sudharsan everyone started to cry about it , clearly we can see how many of them hatewatching while he was batting, if he performed well they would have pretend like they supported him 🤡
— Leo das (@naanthaandaleoo) June 20, 2025
Sai Sudharsan dismissed for a 4-ball duck.
Too much PR pressure?
Hope he can come back in the 2nd innings 🤞#GGera #INDvsENG https://t.co/Q7xrwM6omg— EV thoughts (@eshu_varma) June 20, 2025
#INDvsENG #ENGvsIND #SaiSudharsan
Seems like Sai Sudharsan was still in IPL mode.. 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/hxYGJo2waw
— Bottom Edge (@BottomEdge) June 20, 2025
Sai Sudharsan found out the difference between Test cricket and IPL the harsh way
— Manish Kumar🇮🇳 (@ManishK3010) June 20, 2025
Easwaran should have been given a chance instead of Sai Sudharsan in the playing XI
— mpk (@ManashK81324970) June 20, 2025
Has Team India still not learned that IPL success doesn’t translate to Test cricket success? First SKY, now Sai Sudharsan #ENGvsIND
— R (@_rivj) June 20, 2025
Ok Let’s Be Calm and Cool and Stop Trolling Sai Sudharsan For His Bad Debut in Test Cricket. Let Me Clear You All That He is Not an IPL Quota; He is Quality Player Whose Performance in Dom. is Fabulous. It’s Just The Pressure, Which is Normal For Players, Even Jaiswal Feels It. pic.twitter.com/esj1y52cy1
— Crictale_Yash (@JaisFanForever) June 20, 2025
Test cricket gave Sai Sudharsan a harsh welcome. A perfectly laid English trap and he falls for it — gone for a duck on debut. Headingley’s charm strikes early!#INDvsENG | #ENGvsIND
— Tales Of Cricket (@TalesGoneX) June 20, 2025
I still don’t understand why Sai Sudharsan was selected when Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan have performed well before. You can’t choose players based on IPL runs; IPL is a T20 format. For Test cricket, selections should rely on Ranji stats.#INDvsENG
— T 🎀 (@__Tanya7__) June 20, 2025
Sudharsan became only the third Indian batter to be dismissed for a duck on debut in his very first innings—a stat no debutant wants to be part of. But as history has shown, many greats have stumbled early in their Test journeys before finding their footing.
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Earlier in the session, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were impressive against the moving ball. They were measured, showed great judgement outside the off-stump, and kept England’s pacers—Brydon Carse, Jos Tongue, Chris Woakes, and Ben Stokes—at bay with a 91-run opening stand. Rahul looked especially fluent before falling to a wide outswinger from Carse.
Despite the twin blows before lunch, India ended the session with 92 on the board, laying a decent foundation. But with Sudharsan’s early exit, the middle order will need to step up in what remains a long and challenging Test series in English conditions.
