Rahul Dravid heaps praise on Suryakumar, reveals reason behind No. 1 ranked T20I batter's success

India rode on Suryakumar Yadav's brilliance once again as Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue thrashed Zimbabwe by 71 runs in their last league stage encounter at the T20 World Cup 2022 on Sunday (November 06). Batting first, India rode on KL Rahul's splendid 51 but were reduced to 101 for 4, after being 87 for 1, before SKY's brilliance (a 25-ball 61 not out) propelled the one-time winners to a daunting 186 for 5.

In reply, Craig Ervine-led Zimbabwe only managed a paltry 115 all-out in 17.2 overs as India stormed into the semi-finals with a big win under their belt, topping their group as well. After the match, Suryakumar Yadav earned his second Player-of-the-Match award in the Super 12 round and head coach Rahul Dravid heaped praise on him.

“If I look at Surya from a couple of years ago, just to see (now) how he takes care of his body and the amount of time he spends on his fitness. . . he’s just really earning the reward for a lot of the hard work that he’s put in on and off the field. Long may it continue. He has been absolutely phenomenal for us. He’s a joy to watch. It’s a pleasure to watch him bat when he’s in that kind of form. It’s like he puts on a show, every time,” Dravid said during a post-match conference.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

ALSO READ |'No one would...': Hayden's inspiring speech goes viral after Pakistan reach T20 WC semi-finals - WATCH

"I think it is incredible and that's why he is the number one T20 player in the world. With that consistency in a format where scoring at the strike rate that he does....... it's not easy to be consistent.. I think it is fantastic with the way he is playing and scoring. He is very clear about his tactics. I think he worked very hard you know I think one of the things about Surya is the amount of hard work that he put in in the nets," Dravid added.

SKY is the third-highest run-getter in the competition so far, amassing 225 runs at a whopping strike rate of193.97, along with as many as three half-centuries. India will hope for him to keep going strong in the knockouts and help them end their 15-year-long T20 WC title drought. India face England in the second semi-final, at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, on Thursday (November 10).