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Returning to the format that catapulted him to fame, the 33-year-old delivers a scintillating 42-ball 80 to guide the hosts to victory in the first T20I.
After the brief mourning period following the World Cup final loss, Indian fans faced the last thing they wanted in the first T20 International on Thursday – an Australian opener stealing the show. For a considerable duration, it appeared that spectators in Visakhapatnam were destined for heartbreak as Josh Inglis notched his maiden international century. However, Captain Suryakumar Yadav took charge, and Rinku Singh displayed remarkable composure, leading the hosts to a nail-biting last-ball victory and a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Suryakumar Yadav’s Captaincy Brilliance Shines in the First T20I Against Australia, Powering India to a Two-Wicket Victory at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Suryakumar, previously criticized for his performance in the recent ODI World Cup final, showcased excellent form with a scintillating innings of 80 runs. His innings, adorned with nine fours and four sixes, saw him dominate the Australian bowlers with a 360-degree shot-making display. Suryakumar’s exceptional batting guided India to a successful chase of the daunting target of 209 runs.
The skipper expressed his elation with the team’s performance, especially under the pressure imposed by Australia, who set a massive total and managed to dismiss the openers early in the game.
Suryakumar Yadav , India captain and Player of the Match: Very happy with the way the boys played. Was very happy with their energy, we were put under pressure but the way everyone showed up was amazing. It’s a proud moment, very proud moment, everytime you play, you think about representing India but coming out here and captaining India is a big moment. Thought there will be a little bit of dew but there wasn’t. It isn’t a big ground and I knew batting will get easy. Thought they might get 230-235 but the bowlers did really well. Just enjoy and express yourself. We’ve been in such situations many times in franchise cricket, just told Ishan to enjoy himself. We knew what was going to happen.
Matthew Wade ,Australia captain: It was a good match in the end. Inglis got us a score we thought we could defend but the Indians came hard at us. These young Indians play a lot of IPL and T20 cricket. Thought we bowled pretty well, just couldn’t nail our yorkers, easier said than done especially on a small ground like this. Lot of positives to take out from this game. Inglis was class.
