Mount Maunganui: As Suryakumar Yadav reached his second T20I century with an unbeaten 111 off 51 balls to be the chief architect of India’s 65-run win over New Zealand in the second T20I at Bay Oval, talismanic India batter Virat Kohli sent the social media world in frenzy over his view on the blazing century by the Mumbai-based batter.
“Numero Uno showing why he’s the best in the world. Didn’t watch it live but I’m sure this was another video game innings by him,” tweeted Kohli just after Suryakumar’s knock propelled India to reach 191/6 in 20 overs.
On a sluggish pitch where almost all Indian batters found it tough to time the ball, Suryakumar, the top-ranked T20I batter, hit 11 fours and seven sixes all over the park at a strike-rate of 217.65 to be unbeaten on 111 off 51 balls, his second T20I century.
From being 57 off 35 balls at the end of the 16th over, Suryakumar smacked 54 runs off his last 16 balls to propel India to a challenging score. Eventually, the bowlers came to the party to bowl out New Zealand for 126 all out in 18.5 overs.
Asked about the same in the post-match press conference, Suryakumar had a good laugh and said, “I will take that as a compliment and will try to do things better and consistently.”
With Virat-Suryakumar partnerships turning out to be a treat to watch in the recent Men’s T20 World Cup, the Mumbai-based batter had words of praise on his partnership with the Delhiite.
“Recently we played together and stitched partnerships as well. I really enjoy batting with him, but we need to run a lot because he is super fit. But at the same time when we bat together, we hardly discuss our game.”
“We respect each other and know how we play our game. However, I do tell him one thing that you stand firm at one end and I’ll continue to play my shots from the other end.”
With Suryakumar setting alight the T20I format this year, many are expecting him to set the stage on fire in ODIs with the World Cup happening in India next year. But there’s a school of thought which feels that Suryakumar, 32, should be handed a Test cap, for which the right-hander is extremely optimistic.
In 77 first-class matches, Suryakumar has scored 5326 runs at an average of 44.01, including 14 centuries and 26 half-centuries. “Aa raha hai (It is coming). That time is coming. When we start our cricket, it begins from red-ball. I have played first-class cricket for Mumbai. I have fared well and have a good idea about the format. I enjoy playing that format a lot. Hopefully, Test cap will come soon,” he concluded.
(IANS)
