Was targeting the 50-60m boundaries: Suryakumar on his scoop shots

Suryakumar Yadav is at the peak of his powers, so much that he turns a 145kmph delivery behind the stumps for a huge six. Not seldom do you find players with such stroke-making abilities but the 32-year-old stands out time and again. On Saturday, the right-handed batter scored his third T20I century, which at this point is least surprising. 

But every other day, the right-hander comes out with swagger like today exploiting the gaps in the field. With the short boundaries in one part of the ground, Suryakumar was very wise in his shot-making, pulling one outrageous shot after another. In the third T20I at Rajkot, the right-hander pulled off four paddle scoops, all against pacers to score 22 runs. 

In the post-match presentation, the 32-year-old opened up on the audacious shots, stating that it was only because of the short boundaries.  

“You should know what your game is and prepare accordingly. Boundaries behind are like 50-60 meters, so I was targeting them. There are some shots that are pre-determined but you need to have other shots too so that if the bowler changes his plan, you can have an answer,” Suryakumar Yadav opened up after his third T20I century, a 112. 

Suryakumar isn’t content though, adding that it is really important for him to put more pressure on himself ahead of a clash. On the involvement of Rahul Dravid, Suryakumar insisted that the Indian coach just asks him to enjoy and express himself. 

“It's really important to put pressure on yourself when you are preparing for a game. If you do that in practice, it gets a little easier while playing the game. There is a lot of hard work involved but it's about doing quality practice sessions. He (Dravid) just lets me enjoy myself. He tells me to just enjoy and express myself,” he concluded. 

All-rounder Axar Patel too played more than a handy part in India’s 2-1 series win. While he got only nine deliveries to face in the Rajkot clash, the left-hander smacked four boundaries to score 21, with a strike-rate of 233.33. 

“Feel happier when the team benefits from my batting (when compared to bowling). Didn't do anything different for this series, just that the captain gave me a lot of confidence in the dugout. He tells me to play freely and tells me that he is there to protect me. We do a lot of planning during team meetings but sometimes things do go wrong and I just focus on doing my plans properly," Axar said, after winning the Player of the Series award.