‘I would be disheartened seeing Suryakumar Yadav’s batting’: Hardik Pandya’s stunning remark after India beat Sri Lanka

Suryakumar Yadav fashioned Team India’s memorable win over Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I of the bilateral series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday.

The on-song batter played a scintillating knock to make sure Hardik Pandya-led India finish ahead of Sri Lanka in the series decider at Rajkot. After Rahul Tripathi’s crucial cameo gave India a rollicking start in the powerplay, Suryakumar joined forces with opener Shubman Gill as the batting duo laid the foundation for a match-winning total at Rajkot.

While opener Gill missed out on his maiden T20I half-century, Suryakumar remained unbeaten and slammed his third century in the shortest format of the game. Riding on Suryakumar’s scintillating knock of 112* off 51 balls, Pandya-led India posted a massive total of 228/5 in 20 overs. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Indian skipper Pandya lauded in-form Suryakumar for his batting brilliance.

“I think he has been surprising everyone every innings that he is batting. 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,” Pandya said. After Suryakumar guided India to a gigantic total, pacer Arshdeep Singh bagged three scalps while Yuzvendra Chahal and Umran Malik shared four wickets to bowl out Sri Lanka for 137 in 16.4 overs.

Premier batter Suryakumar was named the Player of the Match for his batting heroics. Stand-in skipper Pandya also praised Tripathi for playing a small cameo in India’s win over Sri Lanka in the series decider. The Indian all-rounder was also quizzed about giving advice to Suryakumar, who has been India’s go-to batter in the shortest format. “Special mention to Rahul Tripathi – the ball was doing something but he showed great intent. Then SKY did his thing. 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 added.