In an absolute crunching affair of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, India defeated the free-spirited Afghanistan by a comprehensive margin of 47 runs in their first Super 8 game of the competition being hosted at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados. The brilliant performances of Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah were just enough to power India to victory.
Suryakumar Yadav, once again, showed his batting finesse by scoring an attacking half-century, the second consecutive one in the tournament. Yadav’s 53 off 28 balls proved handy in holding the Indian innings together, more so after they were in a shaky position of 90/4. It was the match-defining partnership of Pandya and Yadav that put on 60 runs off 37 balls with some clean striking, which helped India post a competitive total of 181 runs on the board.
After his match-winning knock, Suryakumar Yadav spoke about his preparation and clarity of mind. “I think there’s a lot of hard work, there are a lot of processes and routine involved in it. I am clear in my mind what I want to do. I don’t mind giving this Player of the Match to a bowler. First time it’s going to a batter (from India in this tournament), I don’t mind. I think you just need to know your game plan, and just play accordingly. I still remember when Hardik came in to 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 180,” Yadav said.
India’s innings was resurrected from the early jitters due to the counter-aggression of Yadav and Pandya. It was their calibrated attack on the Afghan bowlers that set the stage for a challenging target. This total of 181 proved beyond Afghanistan, much due to India’s disciplined bowling.
Jasprit Bumrah was the hero with the ball, delivering a fast bowling masterclass with figures of 4-1-7-3. His spell tore the Afghanistan batting lineup apart, never allowing them to gain the momentum required for the chase. Bumrah’s great economy rate and ability to take wickets went with the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh, who combined for five wickets to further solidify India’s hold on the contest.
Suryakumar Yadav also equaled the record of Virat Kohli for the most Man of the Match awards in T20Is—both now have 15 such awards against their names—Yadav reached there in 64 matches while Kohli took 120 to do so. That shows his rapid rise and impact the Mumbaikar has had in the shortest format of the game.
This list now sees a tie at the top with 15 awards each to Yadav and Kohli, followed by Virandeep Singh, Sikandar Raza, and Mohammad Nabi, who also have 14 each.
