Washington Sundar has been one of the best bowlers of India so far in the current Test series in England. Cricbuzz reports that Sundar has been experiencing nearly twice the drift than the other four spinners in this series, Ravindra Jadeja, Shoaib Bashir, Liam Dawson and Joe Root. This indicates the quality of bowling and the reason why he has been so difficult to play against. Washington Sundar got the drift 2.6 degree. He wasn’t asked not asked to bowl till 69 over by Captain Gill.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/q6ccAdDmfy — Just Cricket 🇮🇳 (@forjustcricket) July 25, 2025 Cricbuzz also pointed out that the delivery which dismissed Ben Stokes in the second innings of the Edgbaston Test had the highest amount of drift among any wicket-taking ball in England since 2006. That drift in the air made it extremely difficult for Stokes to gauge and ultimately resulted in his downfall. Sundar's ability to achieve so much drift is nothing new. He employed the same artistry while India played against New Zealand in their home series last year, when he frequently made the batsmen feel uneasy. Though India failed to win that series, Sundar's bowling was the highlight. In the ongoing fourth Test at Old Trafford when India was struggling to get breakthrough on Day 3, Sundar displayed his drift magic to dismiss well set Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in quick succession. The amount of drift that Sundar gets is much more than any other spinner in England since 2007. Most Drifts for Spinners in ENG since 2007 Bowler Degree of Drift Washington Sundar 2.7° Nathan Hauritz 2.3° Keshav Maharaj 2.2° Moeen Ali 2.1° Graeme Swann 2.1° Also Read | Watch: Joe Root’s Chill Celebration After Becoming 3rd Highest Run Scorer in Test Cricket What Is Drift in Cricket? Drift in cricket refers to the movement of the ball sideways during flight, usually when spinners deliver the ball. It occurs due to the ball spinning as it travels, hence resulting in different air pressures on opposite sides of the ball. This causes the ball to move or "swerve" prior to landing on the pitch. Drift causes the ball to turn towards or away from the batter, misleading them on where it will come to. Spinners employ it to position the batter such that the ball may turn sharply after hitting the ground. With the majority of finger spinners, such as Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar, and wrist spinners, such as late Shane Warne, depending on drift to torment the batters. For instance, an off spinner can cause the ball to drift towards a right-hander's pads to make him believe that it is coming towards the leg stump, before turning away after pitching and beating the edge. #WashingtonSundar to the rescue! 😎A timely breakthrough as he dismisses the well-set #OlliePope.#ENGvIND 👉 4th TEST, DAY 3 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar 👉 https://t.co/l55AM1kN1p pic.twitter.com/uieVv9b4Hp — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 25, 2025 Washington Sundar's capacity to create more drift than any other bowler in the world has seen him excel in this series. This talent enables him to outplay batters in the air, rather than off the pitch, and it is one of the reasons India has been able to maintain command in turning points.