India confirmed their berth in the Super 4s stage of the Asia Cup 2022 tournament with a triumphant win of 40 runs over Hong Kong on August 31 in Dubai. The hero for the match remained Suryakumar Yadav, whose amazing knock helped India to a daunting total batting first.
The Men in Blue batted first after Hong Kong captain Nizakat Khan won the toss. Rohit Sharma fell for 21 runs while KL Rahul struggled for his 36 runs in 39 balls. But the impetus providing partnership happened between Virat Kohli (59*) and Suryakumar (68* in 26 balls with 6 sixes and 6 fours), as they added 98* runs in no time to propel India to 192/2 in 20 overs.
In reply, though Babar Hayat looked dangerous for his 41, Hong Kong managed 152/5 in 20 overs, as India won by 40 runs.
After the match, Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav got together for a chat, the video of which BCCI uploaded on its social media channels.
"I enjoyed the knock thoroughly at the other end. He came in and changed the entire momentum of the game on a pitch that was not as easy to bat as he made it look. I have seen so many from a distance when we play in the Indian Premier League when you have played against us. This was my first time watching it very closely. I was completely blown away," Kohli said.
“I look forward to you playing this kind of knock regularly for us because I honestly believe that the way you played today, and if you stay in that zone, you can change the complexion of the game against any team," he added.
Asked about his process behind the Suryakumar Yadav said that he had come in with a set approach and was feeling confident about scoring runs.
"Firstly, I loved batting with him. When we were sitting inside, me and Rishabh, we were speaking about how we can take this game ahead as this wicket was a little slow. When I went into bat I did what I love doing, so it was a really simple plan. I wanted to hit three four boundaries at that time and then I just kept batting. At that moment, I told you that I needed you there, that you just bat from one end and it would be easy for you to cover up later on because I have seen you a lot of times that when you bat 30-35 balls, your next 10 balls you bat with a strike-rate of 200-250. So, it was important for me that you stayed there. It was amazing," Yadav said.
Kohli also teased Suryakumar Yadav about not going full monty and hitting six sixes in the last over, as he had hit four maximums to Haroon Arshad.
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"I was trying my best, but let’s not get past Yuvi pa (Yuvraj Singh)," Yadav chuckled.
The Mumbai batter asked Kohli about his comeback in the Asia Cup and how he had been feeling through the innings.
"Six weeks is a long time in the international level. I kind of got the pace of the wicket, and I understand my job is to stabilise the team and build partnerships along the innings. I told you that I could keep going at one end, but once you started hitting, my role immediately changed and I needed to hold one end. It was nice to get a couple of games where I felt good with my batting. For me, milestones and the number of runs are irrelevant, it’s how you feel when you bat. And I felt very good," Kohli concluded.
Here is the video:
