Told the boy’s it’s game on after 10 overs - Suryakumar Yadav

After slipping in the third game at Guwahati, the Indian team led by Suryakumar Yadav won two games on the trot and sealed a T20I series win against the Kangaroos, which was also the first for Suryakumar as Indian captain. 

India batted first and scored 160/8 on what was a tricky pitch at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.  Shreyas Iyer was the top scorer, with an innings of 53* off 37 balls, including two sixes and five fours. The left-arm pacers from Australia, Jason Behrendorff and Ben Dwarshuis, bowled quite well and returned with two wickets apiece. 

While chasing, Australia started off with a flier, as Arshdeep Singh leaked 14 runs off his first over. However, it was Mukesh Kumar who held the fort for India along with the spinners. He eventually picked up three wickets and gave just 32 runs. Meanwhile, Ravi Bishnoi picked up two wickets within the 10-over mark, and Australia were 70/3, needing 91 runs off the last ten overs. 

The Indian skipper knew it would be a tricky chase from there on. “160-175 is a tricky total here. After ten overs, I told the boys that we have a game on.” 

The game was certainly on, as despite needing only 45 runs in the last five overs, Australia failed to get over the line. Arshdeep Singh defended ten runs in the last over. Speaking on his team’s approach and performance, Suryakumar said, 

“It was a good series. The way the boys showed their skills was commendable. We wanted to be fearless, and we wanted to enjoy when we were in the middle. I told them, "Do whatever is right and just enjoy your game," and they did the same. So very happy with that.”

India will play their next T20I series against South Africa starting December 10 at Durban.