Debut to Forget: Sudharsan joins unwanted list after getting out for a duck

Sai Sudharsan was handed his maiden Test cap by Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of the opening day of the first Test against England at Headingley. However, his debut turned out to be one he'd quickly like to move past. Facing just four deliveries, Sudharsan was dismissed without scoring, caught down the leg side on the final ball before the lunch break.

 

The dismissal was a stark contrast to his outstanding form in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), where he amassed 759 runs for the Gujarat Titans. Expectations were high for the young left-hander to carry that momentum into red-ball cricket, but he couldn’t make an impact in his first international outing.

 

With this, Sudharsan joins a rare and unfortunate group of Indian batters who were dismissed for a duck in their debut Test innings, all while batting in the top six. 

 

Indian batters dismissed for a duck in their first Test innings (Top 6):
Player	Opponent	Venue	Year
GR Viswanath	Australia	Kanpur	1969
Kris Srikkanth	England	Mumbai	1981
Devang Gandhi	New Zealand	Mohali	1999
Vijay Bharadwaj	New Zealand	Mohali	1999
Sai Sudharsan	England	Leeds	2025

  Check ENG vs IND 1st Test Day 1 LIVE SCORE UPDATES here  A shared 1st session in Headingley

 

Opting to bowl first didn’t work out well for Stokes, as the opening session saw both Indian openers regularly finding the boundary while also showing good discipline in leaving deliveries outside off stump. The pair looked comfortable at the crease, putting together a solid 50-run stand.

 

Stokes brought himself into the attack and delivered a few testing balls, nearly dismissing KL Rahul with a wide delivery outside off. However, it was Brydon Carse who finally provided the breakthrough for England, removing KL Rahul with a catch in the slips by Joe Root just before the lunch interval.

 

Debutant Sai Sudharsan came in at number three but couldn’t make an impact, falling for a duck after edging a delivery from Stokes down the leg side, making it 92/2 at lunch.