India’s new T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav applauded the team’s character after a nail-biting win over Sri Lanka in the third T20I on Tuesday, July 31 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele. India managed to win the game in the super over despite Sri Lanka needing only 23 runs to win from four overs having eight wickets in hand as well.
However, Washington Sundar (2/23), Rinku Singh (2/3) and Suryakumar Yadav (2/5) turned the game in India’s favour with the ball and restricted Sri Lanka to 137/8 in their allotted 20 overs as well. Later in the super over, Washington Sundar removed Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka in just three balls giving away just two runs. Later captain Suryakumar Yadav chased down the target of three runs on the very first ball itself with a boundary.
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Reflecting on his team’s improbable win, Suryakumar Yadav said, “More than the last over, I feel when we were around 30/4 and 48/5, how the boys showed character in the middle and took the game away from them … I felt 140 was a par score on that track. When we were going in during fielding session I told them, ‘I have seen such kind of games. If we put our heart in for one and a half hours, we can pull it off.’ If you are enjoying hitting 200-220s and winning games, you should enjoy 30/4 and 70/5 as well because that creates balance in your life and that’s how you move on and just be humble.”
However, the Indian skipper further appreciated the skill level of the team saying that it makes his job easy and also opened up on the camaraderie of the team.
“The amount of skill they have, self confidence what they bring into the table, it makes my job very easy. The positivity they have on the ground and in the dressing room, the care for each other what they show is unbelievable. After the last game, I said few boys are going to rest and they were the first ones to tell me, ‘Okay we would rest and you can give opportunities to others.’ That shows the character of the team and how happy they are for others’ performance as well. They have made my job easy. When I go into bat, I have little pressure, I just enjoy to express myself. I said before the series, I don’t want to be the captain, I want to be a leader,” he concluded.
