MATCH STORY
Follow UsSuryakumar Yadav is arguably the best T20 batter of the modern generation but has often been criticised for not showing up in crunch games, especially in the T20 World Cups. There have been a couple of occasions where SKY has failed to step up against big teams in big games, but on June 20 (Thursday), the 33-year-old showed everyone why he is regarded as one of the best in the business in the 20-over format.
This is Suryakumar’s third T20 World Cup. In the previous two editions, the right-hander hit three fifties, with two coming against the Netherlands and Zimbabwe. In between those two half-centuries, SKY did slam 68 off 40 on a tricky Perth wicket against South Africa, but it was not enough to win India.
He failed to make any impact in the semi-final of the 2022 T20WC against England and then looked completely clueless against Australia in the grand finale of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
That’s when the criticisms started getting louder and louder.
Despite his many achievements in the format, SKY had a point to prove in this T20 World Cup. However, he didn’t have a great start to the competition.
SKY got out for just 2 against Ireland and then registered a score of 7 against Pakistan. The surface in New York wasn’t meant for someone like Suryakumar, who is a free-flowing batter. So, it was very pleasing for everyone when he crafted an uncharacteristic 49-ball 50* against the USA in the group stage. It wasn’t a typical SKY knock. In fact, it was his slowest T20 fifty, but he got India over the line after they lost three wickets for 39 in the 111-run chase.
India could have even lost that game if Suryakumar hadn’t scored that fifty. But people were still not satisfied because it came against a team who were playing their first T20 World Cup. They needed more assurance from SKY and that’s exactly what they got in India’s first Super 8 game of the 2024 T20 World Cup against Afghanistan in Barbados.
Now, the surface offered at Kensington Oval was far better than what we had witnessed in New York, but it was still on the slower side. The run scoring wasn’t as easy as SKY made it look. Coming in at No. 4, the right-hander smashed 53 off 28 deliveries and played a major role in India getting an above-par total of 181.
SKY walked into bat at the end of the seventh over. Rishabh Pant had hit 20 off 11 balls, but Rohit Sharma (8 off 13) and Virat Kohli (24 off 24) wasted 37 deliveries between them to score 32 runs. Afghanistan’s ace legspinner Rashid Khan was in the middle of a great spell and had already dismissed Pant and Kohli. The Men in Blue were 62/3 in 8.3 overs when Kohli perished, and the onus was now on SKY to take India to a competitive total.
With India three down, SKY could have played out Rashid and no one would have batted an eye. However, SKY is a different gravy. In the same over where Rashid got rid of Kohli, Suryakumar went down on his knee and swept the legspinner for a boundary. He yielded the same result by playing the same shot in his next over and then smoked one over deep square leg to stamp his authority against Rashid. 14 of Surya’s 16 runs against Rashid came from a variety of sweep strokes.
The legspinner bowled 18 deliveries to the other Indian batters, giving away 10 runs and taking three wickets. However, SKY was having none of that. He faced six balls of Rashid and smashed him for 16 runs, studded with two fours and a maximum. Azmatullah Omarzai received a similar treatment, with SKY hitting him for 18 runs off eight deliveries.
If that lofted drive over mid-off was a thing of beauty, SKY bettered it by punching Omarzai’s full delivery straight over the head of the bowler for a six. Fazalhaq Farooqi was also smacked for a four and six and that helped Surykumar complete his fifty off 27 deliveries. He registered his 23rd 50-plus score in T20Is - the fourth-most by an Indian batter.
He got out to Farooqi in the same over but the job was done. India had touched the 150-run mark in 17 overs and it was already a par score on this surface. “I still remember when Hardik came into the bat, I told him let's bat with the same intent. Let's keep pressing the pedal and keep pushing, in the end very happy with a score of 181,” said Suryakumar, who was rightly named the Player of the Match.
“That's what I have practised. I enjoy batting from (7-15 overs). That's the most difficult phase where the opposition bowlers look to control things. I like to take charge in that phase, I enjoy it. I just backed my game and my instincts. I think there's a lot of hard work, there is a lot of process and routine involved in it. I am clear in my mind what I want to do.”
Unsurprisingly, the target of 182 ended up being too much for Afghanistan and Rohit and Co. emerged victorious by 47 runs. India have a long way to go and the competition will only get tougher and tougher as they progress deeper into the tournament. India have a point to prove, and so does SKY. For the former to happen, the latter will have to keep performing.
SKY has started well but he can’t afford to breathe easy as there are many waiting in the shadows to jump on him the moment he fails.
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