Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav is in the form of his life as he everything touches turns to gold. Yadav scored a whirlwind knock of 61 runs off just 22 balls to help India post a gargantuan score of 237 runs on the board, which is the highest total against South Africa in T20I format.
India was given a perfect start by their openers as Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul added a fine alliance of 96 runs off 59 balls after Temba Bavuma won the toss and decided to bowl first. Rahul scored 57 runs off just 28 balls and SKY wanted to keep up the impetus. The right-hander reached his fifty off just 18 balls as he took the South African bowlers to the cleaners.
As usual, the 32-year-old scored all around the ground to score at a strike rate of 277.73.
SKY said in the post-match presentation, “We were batting first, so it was very clear that I had to keep the tempo that was set by Rahul and Rohit and I just went and enjoyed myself. He (Miller) batted beautifully and I loved it. You just have to be planning really well when you are having the practice sessions (about second-guessing the bowlers). When you are batting first, you can’t set a target and you just gotta bat as deep as possible and get as many runs as possible.”
On the other hand, David Miller scored a brilliant knock of 106 runs off just 47 balls but his efforts went in vain. Miller batted at the top of his game but could not get the support from Quinton de Kock, who trudged to 69 off 48 balls, at the other end.
Miller said after the game, “Quinton obviously struggled upfront but he managed to bat through and give us a chance. He is a capable batter of hitting fours and sixes, so it was just about getting in. As you saw, we were just 16 runs short. He (De Kock) walked up to me (after the game) and said ‘Well played, I’m sorry’. It was a great wicket, and India put us under pressure from the start. We had to go from ball one and the freedom allowed us to express ourselves. It is raining out here and has been a bit wet (humidity). Was just taking as much water as possible.”
Meanwhile, India will hope that Suryakumar Yadav continues his purple patch in the T20 World Cup as he is batting at the top of the world.
India and South Africa will face each other in the third T20I on Tuesday.
