SA vs IND: Sai Sudharsan becomes 4th Indian opener to hit a fifty-plus score on ODI debut

Sai Sudharsan made a big impact on his ODI debut with a dazzling and aggressive fifty against South Africa on December 17 in Johannesburg.

Sai became the 400th player to don the Indian jersey in international cricket on Sunday, as he was handed his cap by the stand-in skipper KL Rahul. The TN batter made it to the side ahead of the likes of Rinku Singh and Rajat Patidar.

Sai would come in to bat earlier than expected on the day as South Africa were bundled out for just 116 runs in 27.3 overs as Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan ran through the Proteas batting lineup. Everyone was interested to see if where the southpaw would bat and he came in to open alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad for the chase.

The TN batter opened his innings with a delightful cover drive off Nandre Burger to get the fans up on



their feet. However, soon after, he would have a lucky moment as he was hit on the pads by Burger and the umpire decided to give it not out.

South Africa decided not to review the decision and Sai would make the most of the second life he got. After the dismissal of Ruturaj, the TN batter took on the onus to ensure that India didn't suffer any jitters in their run chase.

Sai would get to his fifty off just 41 deliveries and became the 17th Indian batter to get a 50+ score on debut. He also became the fourth Indian opener to score a fifty on his debut in men's ODIs. The southpaw's innings consisted of eight boundaries as he stitched together a 88-run stand with Shreyas Iyer, who also scored a fifty on the day to ensure India's victory.

Sai remained unbeaten on 55 as India won the match by 8 wickets.