Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Partiv Patel applauded Suryakumar Yadav for his stunning 83-run knock off 44 deliveries in the third T20I against the West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Tuesday. He came into the crease after debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal’s early dismissal and began his innings with a four to the mid-wicket boundary and a six towards the fine leg in the very first over itself as well.
“I think Suryakumar Yadav’s biggest strength is to get into those positions very quickly, almost anticipating where the bowler is going to bowl. He is almost forcing the bowlers to bowl where he wants them to bowl. It looked like he will cruise to his hundred, but unfortunately, it did not happen. It was a complete T20 innings by Suryakumar Yadav,” he said on Cricbuzz.
Suryakumar Yadav is hopeful of translating his T20I form into the ODI format as well, keeping the 2023 ODI World Cup in mind. He has not had a successful campaign in the Caribbean so far, but still has a handful of matches to do well. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav took on the Windies bowlers quite well and Parthiv Patel praised the duo and backed the aggressive approach.
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“I don’t mind the all-out aggressive approach by the Indian team, because I would rather go down that way than die wondering. Tilak Varma showed a great sense of game awareness and maturity, he played second fiddle when Suryakumar Yadav was going from the other end. Once Surya got out, he took charge and allowed Hardik Pandya to settle in,” he shared. “I think Tilak Varma is actually growing game by game. He did not get to his 50, but that does not matter, what matters is that he finished the job,” Parthiv added.
He also opined on how Kuldeep Yadav corrected his length and pace to dismiss the better of Nicholas Pooran in the third T20I at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Tuesday. Parthiv Patel lauded Kuldeep for not holding back against an in-form Nicholas Pooran.
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“Kuldeep Yadav’s double-wicket over was the turning point in the game. One over before, he was hit for a six and a reverse hit by Pooran. He had to change his length, he was bowling slightly full. But, when he came into bowl the next over, he quickly understood that and pulled his length back, and increased the pace and that did not allow Pooran to reach to the ball well. I thought he outfoxed him really well,” he further added. “Once you get hit by someone as dangerous as Pooran, you might go into a defensive mindset, but Kuldeep did not. He went for Pooran’s wicket and he got success doing that.”
“I thought India were spot on with their planning. They used spinners really well, Spinners bowled four overs in the powerplay. Batting-wise, I thought the approach was brilliant, you may get out while trying to attack from the start, but that happens. I think this should be the way forward for India,” Parthiv Patel concluded.
