Guwahati, Nov 24 (NationPress) As India encountered significant difficulties in the second Test match against South Africa in Guwahati on Monday, Washington Sundar conveyed a sense of cautious positivity, emphasizing that the team needs to "maintain a positive outlook" despite facing a substantial first-innings deficit.

On the same day, South Africa established a commanding 314-run lead after India was dismissed for a mere 201, effectively losing grip on the match. The Indian side faced challenges against a disciplined and resilient Proteas bowling attack during what were near-ideal batting conditions, primarily due to poor shot selection.

"We have to stay positive in life. You never know what may unfold," Sundar remarked when asked about India's prospects following a challenging Day 3 at the Barsapara Stadium.

India's innings suffered further setbacks as captain Rishabh Pant and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel fell while attempting aggressive shots against left-arm pacer Marco Jansen. However, Sundar felt that attributing the collapse solely to those decisions would be unfair.

"On another day, both those shots could have cleared the boundary, and we all would have celebrated. That's the nature of the game," he stated during the post-day media briefing.

"At times, you have to trust their strategies and skill sets, considering they have proven themselves in the past. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t align with our expectations," he continued.

India began the day well with a 65-run opening partnership between KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Except for Sundar's resilient 48 from No. 8, the hosts were soon left reeling at 122 for seven following a slew of wickets. Just one game prior, he had been India's top run-scorer while batting at No. 3 in Kolkata.

"I would say I’m happiest to bat wherever the team needs me. It makes the game much more thrilling. This is a team sport. Strategies vary depending on conditions and opponents. It can be very tactical at times. Even in football, talented players might only play for 20-30 minutes. That’s how it is," he remarked.

Sundar acknowledged that there wasn't a specific strategy for session goals or scoring rates when assessing India's batting plan.

"In a five-day match, I don’t think you need to focus on score or run rate, especially against a quality bowling attack. We aimed to approach it like any other Test innings. If anything, we would have planned for the next day," he explained.

"If we found ourselves in a situation where we only lost 4-5 wickets today, we could have strategized for tomorrow, considering we can bat deep as well. Going into each day, there was no explicit plan regarding how much we needed to achieve today or even in the first innings," he concluded.