Playing his first game after being named India’s full-time T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav slammed a scintillating half-century against Sri Lanka in the first match of the three-T20I series in Pallekele on Saturday (July 27).

After being put in to bat first, the visitors got off to a dominating start as the duo of Shubman Gill (34 off 16) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (40 off 21) added 74 runs for the opening wicket in just 36 balls.

Jaiswal’s dismissal on the first delivery of the seventh over led to Suryakumar’s arrival at the crease. The Indian skipper continued the onslaught, showcasing his wide range of strokes. As a result, he notched up his second-fastest half-century in T20Is off just 22 balls.

Suryakumar’s whirlwind knock was also applauded by the newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir, who looked mighty pleased with the performance of the captain.

Here’s the video:

Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed in the 14th over by Matheesha Pathirana for 58 off 26 balls. His knock was studded with eight boundaries and two sixes.

Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant also played a valuable knock of 49 from 33 balls as India racked up a mammoth 213/7 on the board.