T20 World Cup: ‘He showed he’s got a different game’ – Rohit lauds Super Surya after win over USA

India star batter Suryakumar Yadav hit a gritty knock against T20 World Cup co-hosts USA in New York on Wednesday. SKY (as fans often call him) put behind a shallow start to this tournament by completing a fifty to see his team home by seven wickets. This win also helped India seal their Super 8 spot.

Surya came into bat after India got reduced to 11 for two inside the third over, with both openers departing on single digits. Much to the home team's ecstasy, Netravalkar picked both the wickets, including removing star batter Virat Kohli for a first-ball duck. Surya joined Rishabh Pant in the middle as the pair began putting India’s run chase back on track.

Soon after, Pant departed as India’s scorecard read 39 for three inside eight overs. Knowing what the USA had pulled off against Pakistan, taking them lightlywould have been a blunder.

Suryakumar and Shivam Dube bailed the team out of trouble, adding 72 for the fourth wicket to win the crucial match for India. While Dube struggled on this drop-in New York pitch, scoring 31 off 35 balls, SKY was the architect, slamming his first fifty in this edition.

Although Netravalkar dropped SKY earlier during the innings, the top T20I batter made the most of this chance and won the match for his team. His 49-ball 50* included two sixes and as many fours.

Rohit lauds super Surya

Speaking to the broadcasters, India Captain Rohit lauded his team’s best batter in this format, saying Surya brought his A-game against a spirited USA Team. He added that’s what is expected out of experienced campaigners like SKY to play as per the conditions and win matches for the team.

"He showed he's got a different game as well, that is what you expect from experienced players," Rohit said of Suryakumar Yadav.

"To come out and bat differently if the situation demands, that is what Surya did. The partnership with [Shivam] Dube was very important for us. In the end, to take us home was a great effort.

"We knew it was going to be a tough task scoring those many runs [111], but credit to us. At the end, we held our nerves, got that partnership as well. We lost wickets upfront but credit to Surya and Dube to show that maturity and take the game till the end,” the captain said.

Meanwhile, India will face Canada in their last league game on Saturday (June 15) in Lauderhill, Florida.

(With inputs from agencies)