India captain Hardik Pandya was all praise for Suryakumar Yadav after the latter’s third T20I ton in less than six months time. Surya’s 51-ball-112 helped India beat Sri Lanka by 91 runs and seal the three-match series 2-1.
“I think he has been surprising everyone every innings that he is batting,” Pandya said post-match. “He is just telling us that batting is so easy. If I were bowling to him, I’d be disheartened on seeing his batting, with the shot he plays. He has played blinders after blinders.”
𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐊𝐘’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝟐𝟎𝐈 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐤𝐨𝐭 🎇
Head Coach Rahul Dravid interviews @surya_14kumar post #TeamIndia’s victory in the #INDvSL T20I series decider 👌🏻👌🏻 – By @ameyatilak
Full Interview 🎥🔽https://t.co/nCtp5wi46L pic.twitter.com/F0EfkFPVfb
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 8, 2023
“You don’t need to tell him anything, he knows what to do. If there is any situation where he is unsure, we have our chats but more often than not, he knows what to do.”
Pandya wasn’t the only Indian bowler glad to be on the same team as the Mumbai batter. “I am happy to be on his team,” said Yuzvendra Chahal. “What Surya does in nets, you see that in the match. We try and send the best bowlers to him in the nets.”
The innings marked Surya’s third three-figure score for India in T20Is, following up on his ton in England last summer and against New Zealand back in November last year. It fired India to the total of 228/5 in their quote of 20 overs despite going two down in the powerplay.