India began their ‘super eight’ stage of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, against Afghanistan on June 22, at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados with a dominating win, as Suryakumar Yadav earned the ‘player of the match’ award for his excellent knock of 53-runs in 28-balls.
The way Sky has developed his batting in recent times has been quite impressive. An old Suryakumar Yadav would have looked to release the pressure only by going after the bowlers for the big shots, and on a slow surface, it would have backfired India had they lost wickets in that phase, but a newly developed character in him made sure he also remain attentive in the singles and doubles.
Winning the toss, Rohit Sharma decided to bat first, given the track is expected to get slow as the game progressed and the effect of the sun would come off the 22-yard. The captain couldn’t help the team in an aggressive start, while Virat Kohli too failed to capitalize after getting set for his run-a-ball 24-runs.
Suryakumar Yadav earns applauds from former India players for exceptional knock
Rishabh Pant played a few aggressive shots but Rashid Khan was too good in the morning period, getting full benefit. With the wicket of Shivam Dube, the 2007 champions were struggling at 90/4 in the 11th over, when Hardik Pandya joined Suryakumar Yadav in the middle.
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Both generally looked to keep the ball in the ground, with singles and doubles, but also made sure that in between they would go for the big shots to deny the pressure of the scorecard. Hardik got some time because Sky allowed him to get that.
The Mumbai-born played some supreme shots in the session, one of which that caught the eyes was when he took a couple of steps towards the point region and swept the fast bowler for the deep square region for a six. He wasn’t worried about using his feet in crucial moments too.
Suryakumar Yadav finished with 53 runs in 28 balls, shouldering on five boundaries and three sixes, at a strike rate of 189.29, on a surface where the next best score of their batting line-up was 32 in 24 balls. Even Afghanistan too could manage only 134 in their entire 20-overs, and that showed the importance of the knock from the 33-year-old.
The former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar praises the batter for not only focusing on the sixes but also being careful in notching up the ground shots quite regularly.
‘This is the advantage India have for having one of the best T20 batters in the world. Tricky pitch, Rashid Khan on song, and you saw the value Suryakumar Yadav brings to any team, and the thing to like about him which is not really highlighted is the among of ground shots that he plays.’ The former Mumbai batter Sanjay Manjrekar discussed on ESPNcricinfo. ‘He (Suryakumar Yadav) chips ball over the infield, in the gaps. So, he isn’t somebody who always looks for sixes, which sometimes can be of mis-execution, trying to extract power.’
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The former India captain Anil Kumble expressed that when Sky gets into this kind of touch, it becomes so tough to not only bowl to him but also to set a certain field because he can nail the boundaries in every corner of the ground.
‘It gives India the kind of power and stroke play that you need from someone batting at number 4. It certainly puts pressure on the opposition bowlers because it’s not easy to control a Suryakaumar Yadav in this kind of form.’ The former India leg-spinner Anil Kumble remarked in the same show. ‘You don’t know where to bowl. You find the field is sort of hard to stop him from scoring boundaries, so certainly it augurs well. The first game of the Super 8 and you have Surya coming back to this kind of form.’
Suryakumar Yadav has managed 112 runs in four innings of the competition so far, at an average of 37.33, and a strike rate of just over 125, with two back-to-back half-centuries.