Mohammad Kaif was mightily impressed with Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy in the recent India v Sri Lanka T20I series and said that he is good because Suryakumar learned from Rohit Sharma.
India achieved a 3-0 clean sweep of Sri Lanka with a thrilling victory in the last T20I. India was down and out in the final T20I, and Sri Lanka appeared to be on course for victory when the hosts were cruising at 110-1 in the 16th over, but a huge collapse saw Sri Lanka lose the game. The match went to the Super Over, where India won.
The brilliance of Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav startled Sri Lanka, who fell from 110-1 to 132-8 in 25 deliveries. Surya had Khaleel Ahmed and Mohammed Siraj’s overs planned, but he inserted Rinku Singh in the penultimate over instead.
The move was inspired by the fact that the wicket was getting the turn and Sri Lanka had a left-hander on strike. Rinku Singh gave away just three runs and took 2 wickets, which included Kusal Perera for 46.
Suryakumar Yadav himself bowled the final over while defending 6 runs and picked the wickets of Kamindu Mendis and Maheesh Theekshana while giving away 5 runs and tying the match in the end.
Mohammad Kaif lauds Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy using Rohit Sharma’s reference
Then in the super over, Suryakumar Yadav handed the ball to Washington Sundar, who removed Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka, giving away just two runs. Suryakumar Yadav himself took the strike in the super over and hit a four on the first ball to win the game for India.
Suryakumar Yadav’s astute actions drew standing ovations from the cricket analysts. Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif was astounded by Suryakumar’s masterstrokes and compared his leadership to Rohit Sharma’s.
“Bhai Rohit Sharma ka chela hai Surya.. 19th over Rinku se, 20th over khud SKY and won the game. What else one needs to be a great leader?” wrote Kaif on X.
Bhai Rohit Sharma ka chela hai Surya.. 19th over Rinku se, 20th over khud SKY and won the game. What else one needs to be a great leader?
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 30, 2024
Suryakumar Yadav has been part of Mumbai Indians since 2015 and played under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma in the franchise till IPL 2023. Yadav also made his India T20I, ODI, and Test debut under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and has risen to legendary status in T20I format.
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