On Sunday, July 28, the Indian National Cricket Team led by Suryakumar Yadav took on the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team led by Charith Asalanka in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele.
Suryakumar Yadav, along with Gautam Gambhir, started the new era with a win in the first match and went into the second match with a lot of confidence. It was a complete performance in the first match that helped the visitors seal a thumping win against the hosts.
Suryakumar Yadav lost his first toss as the full-time captain of the Indian T20I team but that did not have any impact on his team’s performance. The opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal (40) and Shubman Gill (34) provided an explosive start to the Indian team and set the stage for the monstrous total. Both the batsmen were at their aggressive best and were not playing for milestones.
After the exit of the openers, it was time for captain Suryakumar Yadav to showcase his batting prowess, and he did not disappoint at all. India’s Mr. 360 played without any added pressure of captaincy and smashed the bowlers all over the park. Suryakumar finished his innings with 58 runs. Moreover, Rishabh Pant chipped in with 49, allowing India to finish on 213/7 on the board.
As far as bowling was concerned, nothing worked for the Men in Blue in the powerplay overs as the Sri Lankan openers played an attacking style of cricket. Arshdeep Singh was the one who got the initial breakthrough and that opened the floodgates. Sri Lanka were 140/1 at one stage and were bowled out for 170. Riyan Parag took 3 wickets while Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel got 2 wickets each. Also, Mohammed Siraj and Ravi Bishnoi were among the wickets as India won by 43 runs.
This is the template we want to move forward with – Suryakumar Yadav
Coming back to the second T20I of India vs Sri Lanka, the Indian National Cricket Team won the toss and elected to bowl first in the match, considering the weather. India bowled exceptionally well and restricted the Sri Lankan Lions to 161/9. When they came to bat, rain disrupted play and the target was revised to 78 runs in 8 overs. The Indian batsmen made the run chase look like a walk in the park and sealed the match by 7 wickets with 9 balls remaining.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, India captain Suryakumar Yadav stated that they want to continue with the same pattern of aggressive batting going forward. He added that the rain helped them in the second T20I and he was delighted with the way his batsmen bowled. Suryakumar Yadav said:
“We talked about this before this tournament – what kind of cricket we want to play. Even if it’s a shorter target or whatever target we’re going after, this is the model we’d like to follow. With the weather, anything under 160 would have been nice. The games we’ve seen here before have always been tricky. The rain helped us. The way the boys batted was wonderful.”
Asked about the possibility of India making major changes to the playing XI in the third T20I with the series already secured, Suryakumar Yadav said that they have not taken any decision. Notably, the biggest question will be whether Sanju Samson will retain his place after securing a win in the second T20I. Suryakumar Yadav said:
“We will sit down and decide what we want to do in the future (when asked if they will test their substitutes). I am very happy for the boys for the way they showed their ability and talent and a lot of character in difficult situations.”
