Suryakumar Yadav played an instrumental role in India’s 56-run victory over Netherlands in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 encounter at SCG on Thursday (October 27).
Batting at No. 4, Surya slammed 51 not out in just 25 balls, propelling the Men in Blue to 179/2 in 20 overs. His knock was studded with 7 fours and 1 six.
During his unbeaten innings, the right-hander was involved in a 95-run stand with Virat Kohli, who returned with 62* off 44 balls. Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma also scored 53 off 39 balls to lead the foundation of a big total.
However, Surya was awarded Player-of-the-Match as Team India recorded their second victory in as many games in the Super 12 stage.
During a post-match interaction, former India head coach Ravi Shastri backed Suryakumar to excel in all three formats of the game, saying the latter can surprise a few in red-ball cricket.
“I think he (Suryakumar Yadav) is a three format player," Shastri said. “I know they don’t talk about him for Test cricket. He’s a three format player. This guy can play Test cricket. And he can surprise a few. Send him there at number 5, let him stir it up."
Suryakumar Yadav made his international debut in March 2021 when Shastri was associated with the team as coach.
The 32-year-old recalled how Shastri told him to express himself in his debut outing – a T20I match against England at Ahmedabad.
“I still remember he (Shastri) called me up. He was sitting by the pool side before me making the debut and said ‘Jaake bindaas Dena’ (Go Enjoy Yourself). I still remember that. I am just loving it," he said.
Since his debut, Suryakumar Yadav has established himself as one of India’s leading batters in white-ball cricket.
In 36 T20Is, Yadav has amassed 1111 runs at an average of 39.68 and a strike rate of 177.48, including one hundred and 10 half-centuries. He has also made a mark in ODIs, scoring 340 runs from 13 matches at an average of 34 and a strike rate of 98.83 with two fifties.
Surya is yet to play a Test match for India but he has an impressive record in first-class cricket. In 77 matches, he has scored 5326 runs at 44.01 including 14 hundreds and 26 fifties.
