New Delhi, Oct. 11 -- To many fans, Sai Sudharsan is the guy with the pretty intense visualisation technique. It was seen during the England tour when he would shadow bat in the middle or when he would make a conscious effort to do some image training. On the eve of the match even as questions about his form were building up, he didn't turn up for the optional nets even though many of the other senior batters did. But this is his way because on the day before the game, he usually does his own thing. His method is to first face bowlers in the nets, then visualise and finally, go out and play those shots in the middle. And, on Friday, play those shots he certainly did. Before this match, Sudharsan had scored 147 runs in seven innings, including a solitary fifty. The potential had not translated into runs but he had the backing of the team and that reflected in his approach. The left-hander showed the wristy flicks that he is earning a reputation for but before he got to that point, his determination to stay in the middle. Yashasvi Jaiswal, at the other end, led the way but Sudharsan added the flourish. The composed 87 he made before being dismissed will give him a lot of confidence going forward and could be just the building block he needed. "In the last match he felt he missed out on a big innings," said batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. "So, the way he approached, I think it was brilliant. See, Sai, we all know how talented he is. And every time, you don't just look at the score. You look at the batsman, how he is batting, how he is pacing his innings, what kind of shots he plays. Sometimes, one or two innings, anybody can fail. But he batted brilliantly today." The brilliance will need to become a regular feature of his batting because the Indian team can't afford a weak link at No. 3. He was eventually dismissed by a delivery that turned far more sharply than expected. But it also happened because of the way Sudharsan plays spin. While many Indian batters prefer to play on the front foot predominantly, the 23-year-old is often on the back foot. "Sai comes from Tamil Nadu and they play a lot on turning wickets. So, he is pretty good against spin," said Kotak. "I think his back foot game, and some shots he plays on back foot, not many players play, or a lot of balls which he negotiates on back foot, most of the players would negotiate it on front foot. The only thing we talk about is, some of the very full balls also, sometimes he plays on back foot. So, we are trying to cut out on that. He knows that and he tries. "And obviously, (we talk about) the line. If the line is outside the off stump, the same length he could easily go on to the front foot and play, then impact would be outside off stump. But his overall game against spin is a lot more on back foot. And with his bat swing, the amount of power he generates on back foot is also amazing. Some of the shots if you have seen, through the middle of extra cover, and through mid-wicket and all, so that is his strength." The Indian team has long looked to shut out the outside noise and they would have asked Sudharsan to do the same. But you still fill the buzz during a press conference or when you run into fans. And from that perspective, the 87 will calm things down a bit and that silence always tends to help with the visualisation....