Former Pakistan wicket-keeper bat Kamran Akmal feels when Suryakumar Yadav fires, he makes the game one-sided. And the same was palpable in the third T20I between India and the West Indies at Providence Stadium, Guyana on Tuesday after Yadav struck a whirlwind knock of 83 off just 44 balls to take the visitors to a seven-wicket win.
Yadav was able to hit the ground running, scoring a four and a six on the first two balls he faced against Obed McCoy in the first over of the run-chase. The right-hander went on to complete his fifty off just 23 balls as he batted in the topmost gear.
SKY scored 10 fours and four sixes in his blistering knock and batted at the top of his game. The right-hander also added a fine alliance of 87 runs for the third wicket with Tilak Varma (49* off 37) to help the team get close to the target of 160.
Yadav took the West Indies bowlers to the cleaners and showed no mercy as he scored his runs all around the ground.
“When early wickets fell, it was still okay because the senior batters took responsibility and ensured the job was done. Suryakumar Yadav is such a player that when he fires, he just makes the game one-sided and that’s exactly what he did,” the former Pakistan wicketkeeper said on his YouTube channel.
Akmal added that India’s change in approach helped them bounce back in the series as they showed more intent.
“There has been a marked change in batting. There has been a sense of responsibility and game awareness that ‘Hey, we are doing something wrong and we need to change it if we want to win games,” he added.
The former Pakistan opener added that even though India doesn’t have veteran batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, their batting unit is capable of scoring 200 runs in a T20I game.
“Although they don’t have star batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, this Indian batting line-up can still score 200 runs. They just need to show the same game awareness and ensure that the openers need to utilize the powerplay. When you plan and execute according to the conditions, everything falls into place,” he added.
The fourth T20I between these two teams will be played on Saturday at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida.
