Watch: On the field, Suryakumar Yadav is known for his fast hands and quickly anticipated strokes. Off the field, too, his quick wit shines through, as was evident after the third West Indies-India T2oI.
A characteristically enterprising 83 off 44 from Suryakumar Yadav guided India to their first win of the five-match T20I series. It was a welcome victory after back-to-back defeat. ‘SKY’ looked in pristine touch, manoeuvring the field like he often does, choosing his areas wisely and hitting ten fours and four sixes. Along with his Mumbai Indians teammate Tilak Varma, he forged an 87-run stand that formed the base for a comfortable seven-wicket win.
It fetched him the Player of the Match award. Along the way, he also equalled Chris Gayle to become the second-fastest to hit 100 sixes in men’s T20Is, taking 49 innings to reach the landmark. All in all, it was a memorable outing, but the fun continued even after the game.
At a post-match chat, a reporter asked Suryakumar whether he was disappointed at missing out on a third T20I hundred despite getting close.
Sharp as always, the Indian vice-captain quickly pointed out that there had been a slight miscalculation. “Sir, first of all, I would like to correct you. It would have been my fourth 100th!”, he said with a broad smile and burst into a chuckle.
“Oh sorry!”, replied the reporter, also laughing, amused by the leg-pulling.
A minor slip-up, really, but one that was only greeted with a big smile.
Who says cricketers don’t care about personal statistics!
He was on fire yesterday, in more ways than one 😂 pic.twitter.com/lr8EQGhPj3
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 9, 2023