Watch: Suryakumar Yadav etched his name into the record books once again with a stunning century against Sri Lanka, his third in T20Is.
In the series-decider at Rajkot, Suryakumar came in at the end of the powerplay with the platform laid, India on 52-2 in the sixth over. The India No.4 proceed to play all manner of dazzling strokes, with his full repertoire on display.
There were sixes scythed over third man, more orthodox strokes, and an array of scoops over fine leg. Suryakumar flung himself about the crease with abandon, rarely failing to find the middle of the bat even as he ended up lying on his back with his legs in the air.
Suryakumar took his time to get set in the second game, which India lost narrowly, but the assault was instant here, with his fourth ball driven over extra cover for four and his fifth whipped for six.
From 25 off 17, he stepped up a gear again, a short ball upper-cut for four before another ramp for six. Now he was truly away, with a spurt in the middle of his knock the most stunning – at one point, he had hit 64 off his last 22 balls. He brought up his hundred with a single, off 45 balls, before another six and four in the final over capped off a captivating knock.
Suryakumar has now made three T20I hundreds – only Rohit Sharma, who has played 97 innings more, has more. He is the only non-opener to make more than two T20I hundreds, and his average of 46.41 is the fourth-best in the format. His strike rate of 180.34 remains the best by a distance – no other batter, with a cut-off of 1,000 runs, strikes at over 160.
