After the first T20I got washed out, India and New Zealand faced off against each other in the second T20I at the Bay Oval on November 20, Sunday and it was the Men in Blue who came out on top in the first innings after crushing the Black Caps.
After losing the toss and being forced to bat first, Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant got off to a cautious start. However, both batters did not sustain for long and Kishan perished for 36 while Pant made his way back to the pavilion for just 6. It was Suryakumar Yadav, who stood up to the occasion and smashed a great-hearted century to help team India put on a strong total of 191 runs on the board at the end of the first innings.
For the unversed, the right-handed batter smashed 111 runs off 51 balls, comprising 11 fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of over 200. Virat Kohli, who took cognizance of Suryakumar’s innings, took to Twitter to laud the player and rated the batter to be one of the best in the business.
Commenting on the knock, Kohli said that he did not watch it live and said further that he knew that it was a video game kind of inning from the talented batter. Reasonably, Suryakumar came up with his usual unorthodox shots and slammed the Kiwi pacers all around the ground.
“Numero Uno showing why he’s the best in the world. Didn’t watch it live but I’m sure this was another video game innings by him. @surya_14kumar,” Kohli tweeted. Suryakumar is fast becoming India’s trustable batter in the shortest format of the game and the batter is proving it over and over.
Here is Virat Kohli’s tweet:
Numero Uno showing why he's the best in the world. Didn't watch it live but I'm sure this was another video game innings by him. ? @surya_14kumar
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 20, 2022
It was really important for me to bat till end: Suryakumar Yadav
Post the conclusion of the first innings, Suryakumar Yadav said that it was important for him to stay till the end and added that the century meant a lot to him. Further, the talismanic batter said that it was easier for him to score in the late overs as he had practised the same in the nets.
“In T20, a hundred is always special but at the same time, it was really important for me to bat till the very end. Hardik was telling me to bat till the 18th or 19th over, and get to a score of 185 or so. After the end of the 16th over, we had a chat about taking it deep. It was important to maximise the last few overs. Have been doing the same things over and over again, in the nets and it’s just coming off for me,” Suryakumar was quoted as saying after the first innings.
As things stand, chasing the mammoth total, at the end of 9 overs, New Zealand were reeling at 63/2 with skipper Kane Williamson remaining unbeaten at 27 and with Glenn Phillips at the other end.
