India’s talisman Suryakumar Yadav can do no wrong at the moment. Everything he touches, turns to gold. That’s the kind of form he is in. SKY scored an unbeaten knock of 111 runs off 51 balls against New Zealand at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on Sunday in the second T20I of the series.
The right-hander innings’ was laden with 11 fours and seven sixes as he scored his runs with a strike rate of 217.65. He absolutely made a mockery of New Zealand’s bowling attack, which had the likes of Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Satner and Ish Sodhi.
Once again, it was a typical freakish knock from Suryakumar Yadav, as he consistently hit the ball in the areas where no fielders was positioned. Surya completed his fifty off just 32 balls while his second fifty came off only 17 balls as he changed gears like a superfast car.
“In T20 cricket, a hundred is always special,” Suryakumar told the broadcasters after India’s innings. “But it was also important for me to bat till the end, that’s what Hardik [Pandya, his partner in an 82-run stand for the fourth wicket] was telling me from the other end. Just try and play till the 18th-19th over, we need a score of 180-185, and really happy with the score on the board.
“I’m enjoying batting this way, I’ve been doing the same thing in the nets, all practice sessions and going out [to the middle], all these things happening, I’m very happy with that.”
Meanwhile, India’s stand-in captain Hardik Pandya joined forces with Suryakumar Yadav in the 13th over. SKY revealed that the plan was to bat deep and take the team to a par score. India went on to post an above-par score of 191 runs after they were invited to bat first by Kane Williamson.
“We [he and Hardik] had a word after the 15th and 16th over, that let’s try and take it deep,” Suryakumar said. “Because after Hardik, it was only [Deepak] Hooda and Washy [Washington Sundar] to come, and we wanted to maximise the last four overs. I’m really happy with the way things went.”
SKY was awarded the Player of the Match for his whirlwind knock as he scored his second T20I century.
He said in the post-match presentation, “The plan was clear when I went into bat. At the 12th/13th over, we thought about batting deep and getting around 170-175 was a par score. Secret (behind his freak shots) is about the intent and you need to enjoy yourself. It’s also about the work you do in the practice sessions. It’s a great feeling coming here, having a full game and going 1-0 in the series feels good. I feel that I didn’t think too much about what was happening. Just had my gameplan and it worked well. Fantastic crowd here.”
The third T20I between India and New Zealand will take place at McLean Park, Napier on Tuesday.
