India’s talisman batter Suryakumar Yadav was delighted after the team’s convincing win of 47 runs against Afghanistan in their opening match of the Super 8 stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday.
After winning the toss, India found themselves in some trouble at 62-3 as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant were all dismissed cheaply. However, Yadav was able to find his timing from the get-go and scored at a strike rate of almost 200 for the major part of his innings.
Yadav went on to score 53 runs off 28 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes, as he once again scored all around the dial. SKY added a crucial alliance of 60 runs with Hardik Pandya and helped his team in posting 181 runs on the board.
This was back-to-back fifties for Suryakumar Yadav and he once again showed why he is the number one batter in ICC T20I rankings. The right-hander from Mumbai feels that the clarity of game plan helps him stay ahead in the game.
SKY said after being awarded Player of the Match, “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.”
He added, “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 the 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.”
India will next take on Bangladesh at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua on Saturday.
