Suryakumar Yadav, a flashy middle-order hitter, has excelled during his brief international cricket career. The 32-year-old finished as the third-highest run scorer in the just-finished T20 World Cup after smashing 239 runs in six innings. He has so far contributed to India with several game-changing hits, including a spectacular century against England and New Zealand in 2022.
Yadav chose his half-century against South Africa in the T20 World Cup as his best performance to date in an interview with the Indian Express. The middle-order ace explained the situation by saying that the Perth pitch was unlike anything he had ever encountered in terms of how difficult it was to bat on.
Suryakumar Yadav said during an interview, “I think that half-century against South Africa in Perth was the defining knock for me. It was the most challenging wicket I have faced to date. Before the game, I went to bat in the nets for 15 minutes and I got the feeling of Perth there itself. The practice pitches were quick. So I faced a mere 15 balls and told Vicky paaji (batting coach Vikram Rathod) that I am done for the day, whatever batting is to be done will be done in the match.”
The Mumbai cricketer rose to the occasion and scored an incredible knock against the excellent Proteas bowling attack while all the other Indian batsmen were struggling to even connect with the ball. The 32-year-old was under immense strain when India lost five rapid wickets, but he rose to the occasion and hit 68 runs off 40 deliveries to save India from a humiliating predicament. This factor was taken into consideration when he selected his favorite knock.
He further added, “When I went in to bat, I told myself that this pitch is quicker than I thought. So, when I went to the non-striker’s end, I kept thinking about which shots I could play as there was bounce too. When we were 49 for 5, we had nothing to lose. We could have got all out for 75, but I decided to take the positive route.”
Nevertheless, team India lost the match by five wickets despite his best efforts.
