Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag hailed Suryakumar Yadav’s stellar knock against the United States of America ( USA) that helped Men in Blue to register a comfortable 29-run win in their opening match at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium on February 7.
Suryakumar’s innings eventually helped the defending champions to win the contest by 29 runs after the USA were restricted to 132/8.Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Haier Match Centre Live, JioStar expert Sehwag hailed Suryakumar’s knock as one of the best knocks of his career.
“Imagine if the Indian team had been all out for just 100, we wouldn’t have said that a weak team like the USA beat India. They have also qualified for the World Cup. That’s why I feel it was one of the best knocks of Suryakumar Yadav’s career. I always say, focus on the ball and not the bowler, because if it pitches in the right area, you have to respect it. If you go for your shots on a good ball, you might get out,” former Indian cricketer Sehwag said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator further lauded the USA bowlers, adding, “Take this USA team, we had heard very little about some of these bowlers, but they were able to reduce India to 77 for 6, which I don’t think any other team has managed in the last two to two-and-a-half years. So, hats off to Suryakumar Yadav, he played extremely well.”
After being asked to bat first, the Men in Blue made 161/9 in 20 overs. Captain Suryakumar played a fantastic, unbeaten knock of 84 off 49 deliveries.Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan (20 off 16 balls, with one four and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (25 off 16 balls, with three fours and one six) also chipped in with the bat.
For India, Mohammed Siraj (3/29), Axar Patel (2/24), and Arshdeep Singh (2/18) picked wickets.