Suryakumar Yadav was the toast of the day after he helped India defeat New Zealand in the second T20I of the three-match series on November 20, 2022, in Mount Maunganui. With this 65-run win, India earned a 1-0 lead in the series while the first match in Wellington was rained out.
Kane Williamson had put India into bat after winning the toss and despite getting Rishabh Pant (6), Shreyas Iyer (13), and Hardik Pandya (13) out cheaply, first Ishan Kishan (36) and then Suryakumar Yadav pummeled the New Zealand bowling.
Yadav in particular was merciless as he made 111* in 51 balls with 11 fours and 7 sixes to his name and took India to 191/6. This was his second century in T20Is this year itself and he has amassed 1151 runs in 30 T20Is in 2022. In reply, New Zealand folded for 126 as India won by 65 runs to go 1-0 up in the series.
Attending the post-match press conference, Suryakumar Yadav talked about Test cricket. The world’s number-one batter in the shortest format, Surya is also a proven performer in red-ball cricket, having represented Mumbai for years in the domestic circuit.
He has 5326 runs in 77 FC matches with 14 centuries and 26 fifties to his name. He averages 44.01 and his highest score is 200.
NZ v IND 2022: Kane Williamson rates Suryakumar Yadav's 111* among the best knocks he has ever seen
He said: “Aa raha hain, woh (Test selection) bhi aa raha hain (coming, that is also coming. When we start playing cricket we start with red ball and I have also played first-class cricket for my Mumbai team… it was quite okay, so I have a fair idea about the Test format and I enjoy playing that format also. Hopefully, I will get the Test cap soon.”
Suryakumar’s exploits with the bat since his India debut in 2021 have left many thinking whether his call-up to the Men in Blue side was delayed by 2-3 years. He admitted that being overlooked in the past was a bit frustrating.
He added: “I always keep going back to my past. When I am in the room, or travelling with my wife, we keep talking how the situation was two-three years ago. What is the situation now, what has changed now from then, we keep discussing that time.
Obviously, there was a bit of frustration that time but we always tried to see if there was something positive, I could take out of that phase. How could I become a better cricketer, how to go one step ahead. After that time, I tried to do different things, like eating good food, do quality practice sessions, sleeping on time, so today I am reaping the benefits of all those things I have done then."
He further added that he watches his strokes after the match while reviewing his innings and is surprised himself on how he could pull off some of the shots he plays.
“I also feel amazed seeing some strokes when I go back to my room, watching the highlights. Every time even if I do well or I am not doing well on that day, I do watch the highlights, but yeah, even I get surprised seeing those strokes. I never try to go ahead of the game, I never think today I am playing well so I will make ‘x’ number of runs because it is very important to stay in the present.
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“If you think even for a minute that I am ahead of the game, or I am ahead of the bowlers, planning can go wrong there. So I try to stay in the present, and think about what I am supposed to do at that moment, rather than thinking ahead,” he said.
He added, “I spend a lot of time on my off days with my wife, speak to my parents a lot, the one thing which keeps me grounded always is that they don’t talk about the game, no discussion about the game. That’s the most important thing and I will be really happy to be staying in that zone for a very long time from hereon."
New Zealand and India will clash in the third and final T20I in Napier on Tuesday.
(Prime Video inputs)
