Suryakumar Yadav carried his rich vein of form forward as he smashed the second century of his T20I career during the second T20I of the three-match series against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
Yadav took just 49 deliveries to bring up his century in the penultimate over of India’s innings. He smashed a four and a six after that but couldn’t get strike in the final over as India managed a total of 191/6 in their quota of 20 overs. Yadav remained unbeaten on 111 from 51 deliveries, an innings consisting of 11 fours and seven huge sixes.
This was also his second international hundred of the year, with the first one coming in another T20I against England earlier this year. Yadav has amassed 1151 runs in T20Is in 2022, the most among all batters, at a superb average and strike rate of 47.95 and 188.37 respectively.
He was also one of India’s best batters during the T20 World Cup in Australia recently, where he amassed 239 runs at an outstanding average of 59.75 and a mind-boggling strike rate of 189.68. That includes fifties in crucial games against South Africa, Zimbabwe and Netherlands.
His exploits during the tournament also helped him in becoming the No.1 batter in the ICC T20I rankings and it doesn’t look like he is going to leave the position anytime soon.
The 32-year-old made his debut for India in a T20I against England in Ahmedabad last year. He also went on to make his ODI debut soon, with his first match coming against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2021. He has played 13 ODIs so far, amassing 340 runs at an average of 34. But he has earned his fame mainly for his T20I exploits as he has accumulated 1395 runs in the format so far, including two hundreds and 12 fifties.
Speaking about his innings during the mid-match break, Suryakumar said, “In T20 cricket a hundred was really special, but it was also important for me to bat till the end, Hardik told me.
“We needed a score of 190-195 and happy we got there. We had a word in the 16th over that we wanted to take it deep with only Hooda and Washington to follow. I’ve been doing the same thing in the nets and all practice sessions.”
India won the match pretty comprehensively in the end as they bowled New Zealand out for 126. Skipper Kane Williamson was the top scorer for the hosts as he scored 61 from 52 deliveries. Part-time spinner Deepak Hooda was the pick of the Indian bowlers as he registered superb figures of 4/10.
Suryakumar was adjudged the Player of the Match once again for his superb batting effort.
