Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels Suryakumar Yadav scoring runs against the USA is an auspicious sign for India. India found themselves under the cosh at 39-3 however Yadav was able to steady the ship as he added a match-winning alliance of 72 runs with Shivam Dube.
Yadav scored a fine knock of 50 runs off 49 balls with the help of two fours and as many sixes to help his team get over the line. The right-hander is the number T20I batter in the ICC rankings and he would hold the key for the Indian team.
SKY has the skills to turn the match on its head with his blistering batting and he will want to continue the good show.
“It’s extremely important. We always talk about match-winners. I feel Suryakumar Yadav is the biggest match-winner in this team because the day he plays, he not only wins the match but takes the match far away from the opposition. The opposition can’t even think that they can win the game,” Harbhajan Singh said on Star Sports.
“He is a special player. He is a different-level player. It’s good that runs came from his bat that day because if those runs hadn’t come, it could have been a cause for worry. However, runs coming from his bat is an auspicious sign for India,” the former India spinner added.
The Turbanator reckons SKY’s presence helps India in calming the nerves.
“It’s a great sign for the dressing room as well because when he bats, the dressing room is absolutely calm. They know that until he is there, he will win the match and come out.”
On the other hand, Navjot Singh Sidhu showered praise on Suryakumar Yadav for scoring his runs behind the wicket.
“He has made areas where playing shots was considered a crime his own. Almost 40% of the runs in his innings were in the fine-leg area. He is playing in the reverse V. He is doing a 360-degree attack. So you cannot set a field. When you cannot set a field, you are left stunned,” he said.
“The pace at which he scores, if he scores more than 50, he will win the match. Very few players play at that pace. Maybe Hardik Pandya and Travis Head, that too with the new ball against the short ball. There are very few game-changers,” Sidhu observed.
India will begin their Super 8 campaign against Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday.
