Suryakumar Yadav and Akshar Patel put up a record partnership for the sixth wicket.
Suryakumar Yadav and Akshar Patel’s stunning efforts with the bat went in vain as Sri Lanka defeated India by 16 runs in the second T20I at the MCA Stadium in Pune to level the ongoing three-match T20I series at 1-1 on Thursday (January 5).
Chasing 207 for victory against Sri Lanka, Team India had a forgettable start, but then Suryakumar (51) and Akshar (65) put up a record partnership of 91 runs for the sixth wicket, but it was not enough for the hosts to save the match, as they fell 16 runs short of the target in the second T20I on Thursday.
This is the highest partnership ever by an Indian pair for the 6th wicket, overhauling the previous record set by Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli (a 71-run stand) against England in 2021 at Ahmedabad.
After the game, Akshar spoke about how he and Suryakumar approached their record 91-run stand in just 40 balls in the second T20I against Sri Lanka.
Akshar Patel said in a video posted by BCCI on Twitter: “When I went in, I spoke to Surya bhai, and he told me if we will show intent we might have an outside chance. We tried to score 10-12 runs per over and wanted to take the game deep. We knew that if we couple of overs will our way, we’ll have high chances.”
The star all-rounder smashed the Sri Lankan off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana for a four and six over long-on in the 13th over and then Hasaranga de Silva for a hat-trick of sixes in the 14th over.
Speaking about the same, Patel said: “I had not thought about taking on Hasranaga. I was just watching the ball and decided if it will be in my zone I will go for it.”
Akshar completed his maiden fifty off just 20 balls with a six off Karunaratne over long-off and the all-rounder said it would always remain special for him.
He signed off by saying, “First fifty is always special, but I am not happy because we lost the match. I had the chance to finish the match.”