No.3 is a sacred batting position in Indian cricket. It’s the precious window seat that elite daily commuters with a season ticket save with a handkerchief on local passenger trains. It’s coveted, and India save it for the very best. The baton was passed over from Rahul Dravid to Cheteshwar Pujara with utmost care in Test cricket. In ODIs, Virat Kohli barged in and made the position his birthright.

In T20Is, you wouldn’t have dared to question Kohli’s right to the position. A brilliant anchor on his day, Kohli had built up a formidable body of work over the last decade to keep batting in his favoured position. India’s rudimentary stance on T20s often meant that any scope for a change got nipped in the bud, with valid reason too, because Kohli was that good.

Then came Suryakumar Yadav. His eye-staring contest with the Indian skipper in the Indian Premier League’s 2020 edition could easily have dilapidated his promising international career before it had even begun. Yet, in just his second game for India, after being sat out following a debut where he didn’t get further than padding up, Suryakumar walked in at No.3 – Kohli selflessly sacrificing his favoured position to move one down – and paraded his chutzpah to the world with a gorgeous pull for six off none other than Jofra Archer off the first ball he faced.

A 31-ball 57 and a Player of the Match award seemed secondary to the fact that Suryakumar could own the batting position in just one ball, offering India something entirely different to what their top-order already had. But, would he still get to bat at No.3 in a series decider? Ishan Kishan, his Mumbai Indians teammate, who had won the Player of the Match award on debut for a half-century from his favoured position, was shunted down the next game.

Was this the best-ever first international ball played of all time?#INDvENG #SuryakumarYadav #IndiaTaiyarHai #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/IekaNPpCXR

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 19, 2021

But India seemed to know what they had in their hands. They went out of their way to ensure Suryakumar would remain at the same position, pushing Kohli to open the innings, dropping KL Rahul and playing an additional bowling option. For a team that has always been stiff-necked when it comes to making significant changes, that’s a remarkable overhaul to fortify a newbie in a hallowed batting position.

Over the course of his 17-ball innings, Suryakumar not only sealed beyond doubt his position in the playing XI, but also showed why he should be given the No.3 slot in the run to the T20 World Cup. Off his second and third deliveries he took down Adil Rashid, the first time with a roaring approval from his skipper at the other end, and the second time with the massive approval from social media fans as he creamed a lofted cover drive for six.

By the time he scooped out a Chris Jordan yorker through gully, all along the ground, keeping with the traditional aesthetics that apply to India’s No.3 batsmen, Suryakumar had raced past Kohli’s score having faced half the number of balls.

His 32 off 17, brought to an end only by a spectacular effort in the deep by Chris Jordan, had quite a solid secondary plot to it. He not only scored at a remarkably frenetic pace, but also took down Rashid – an unfavourable match-up considering the leg-spinner turns the ball away from him – continuing a plan that he had executed to perfection in the last game too.

In the middle overs phase this series, Rashid has an economy rate of 8.77 while taking three wickets. Against Suryakumar, he has conceded 37 runs in just 13 balls, an economy rate of 17.08.

Being able to score quick against leg-spinners, the biggest threat in the middle overs in most T20I sides, is a big advantage for a middle-order batsman. When combined with the capability to tonk 140 kmph throat-killers for six, Suryakumar’s skill set is as good as it can get in this format. In the space of two knocks, Suryakumar has shown with little complication that he has a right to that sacred spot.