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With this milestone, Suryakumar joined the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. Rohit has featured in 159 T20Is, while Kohli and Hardik have both played 125 matches.
In the first T20I of the five-match series between India and New Zealand at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, India captain Suryakumar Yadav on Wednesday (Jan 21) became the fourth Indian cricketer to play 100 T20I matches. With this milestone, Yadav joined an elite list comprising Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. Rohit leads the chart with 159 appearances, while Kohli and Pandya have played 125 T20Is each.
The Mumbai batter made his T20I debut in March 2021 against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In 100 matches so far, he has amassed 2,820 runs at an average of 35.25 and an impressive strike rate of 163.00. The 35-year-old is currently the third-highest run-scorer for India in the shortest format.
Suryakumar has played nine T20I matches against New Zealand and has scored 316* runs, including one century and one half-century. His average against New Zealand in T20Is is an impressive 45.14.
At the time of writing, India were 68 for two at the end of the powerplay. Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav were at the crease. India had a slow start as opener Sanju Samson was out for 10 runs. Ishan Kishan also failed to make an impact and was dismissed for eight runs by Jacob Duffy. For New Zealand, Jacob Duffy (1/16) and Kyle Jamieson (1/30) picked up one wicket each.
With eight wickets remaining, India will aim to build a strong total. On the other hand, New Zealand will try to restrict India to a low score. It will be interesting to see how the New Zealand bowlers handle India’s powerful batting lineup.