9th consecutive win for the India cricket team at the T20 World Cup. No team has remained undefeated for longer in the ICC tournament. From beating Ireland in New York to defeating the United States of America (USA) in Mumbai, the unbeaten streak has continued.
Tied with South Africa and Australia, Suryakumar Yadav’s team claimed a rather comfortable victory, by 29 runs, over the USA at the Wankhede Stadium. But, for a moment in time, the Men in Blue were staring at the end of a barrel.
Suryakumar Yadav saves India
In the last over of the powerplay in the first innings, India lost 3 wickets. Shadley van Schalkwyk wreaked havoc, sending Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, and Shivam Dube to the hut. The situation worsened in the next couple of overs. All of a sudden, India was 77/6.
Everyone was sweating bullets. But Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav was still in the middle. With the help of Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Varun Chakaravarthy, he propelled India to 161. Surya was the centre of it all. His unbeaten 84-run knock was the difference between a below-average and an above-average target.
“I never felt that it was a 180-190 wicket. I felt it was a 140 wicket. I have played a lot of my cricket in Bombay, on this wicket, and also on the maidans of Mumbai cricket. So, I know how to bat on similar kinds of wickets,” Suryakumar said after the match.
Suryakumar has struck four T20I hundreds, but this was undoubtedly his best knock in the format. Considering the situation, the occasion, and the pressure of being the captain, to pull something off like this is truly special.
Wake-up call for batters
Going into the T20 World Cup, many have pencilled India down as favourites. Perhaps a tough match is what India needed. They weren’t close to their best today. To begin with, India didn’t have Jasprit Bumrah due to illness. But the batters didn’t access the surface correctly.
Considering they’ve played plenty of cricket in Mumbai, you’d expect the batter to perform better. Especially Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube. The former plays for the Mumbai Indians and the latter for Mumbai. Of course, you don’t want to criticise someone on the basis of one innings, but it’s a wake-up call for all the batters.
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