Suryakumar Yadav was a relieved captain as India registered a nervy two-wicket victory over England in the second T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Saturday (January 25).
Chasing 166 to win, the Men in Blue overhauled the target with four deliveries to spare, courtesy of Tilak Varma’s 72* off 55 balls. India were reeling at 78/5 at one stage but the southpaw added 38 runs for the sixth wicket with Washington Sundar to keep the hosts in the hunt.
While Sundar fell after scoring 26 off 19 balls, Tilak held the one end firmly and batted brilliantly with the tail. His unbeaten 20-run stand with leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (9* off 5) took India over the line.
“A little bit of relief with the way the game was going. We felt 160 was good. They bowled really well, good that that the game went down to the wire. We've been playing with an extra batter since the last 2-3 series. We want that cushion and also that batter gives us 2-3 overs in the game,” Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation.
“The chat around was to play as we played the last game. We are playing an aggressive brand of cricket, but at the same time, as the situation demanded, boys actually put their hands up and stitched those small partnerships,” he added.
The Indian skipper was effusive in praise of Tilak Varma and also lauded the efforts of Ravi Bishoni and Arshdeep Singh with the bat.
“Very happy with the way Tilak batted, good to see someone like him taking responsibility. He's (Bishoni) been putting in a lot of hard work in the nets, he wants to contribute with the bat as well, it's a perfect example that he did it today and not to forget Arshdeep Singh as well,” Surya remarked.
Suryakumar Yadav was handed India’s full-time T20I captaincy after Rohit Sharma retired from the shortest format last year.
Sharing his experience of leading the young side in the last six months, Surya said: “Experience has been very good, the boys have taken a lot of pressure off me, so I can go out and express myself. The atmosphere has been really good, it's very light in the dressing room. We want to play a certain brand of cricket, it. We know what we want to do. If we are all on the same page, then good things will take place.”
India now hold a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against England. The two sides will next face on January 28 in Rajkot.
