VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman. (Photo: Twitter)

Former India batsman, VVS Laxman was left amazed, and so was Jofra Archer, when Suryakumar Yadav hit the pacer for a six on Tuesday in the fourth T20I in Ahmedabad.

Suryakumar Yadav, facing his first ball in international cricket – he made his debut in the 2nd T20I but didn’t get the chance to bat – was greeted with a chest-high short ball from Jofra Archer.

Yadav, unfazed by the intimidatory bowling of Archer or the occasion of his maiden international innings, calmly watched the ball, got in its line, and pulled it over the fine leg boundary for a maximum while transferring the weight on his back leg as his front leg became airborne.

Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav [Image-BCCI]
VVS Laxman termed it as ‘Spectacular’ which left him, and everyone else, including Archer, astonished. Yadav continued to bat with alacrity as was dismissed after scoring 57 runs from 31 balls. Laxman says that clarity in Suryakumar’s mind was a key attribute in his innings; he also lauded the batsman for the way he tackled England’s fast bowlers while also manipulating the field.

“Spectacular, he astonished both me and Jofra Archer. His mindset is praiseworthy. He even told Murali Kartik that he wanted to keep it simple. If you complicate things too much, you forget at times what your strengths are and what is your template of scoring runs,” VVS Laxman said while speaking with Star Sports.

“The timing we saw today, the way he placed the ball, and the manner in which he was coming behind the line of the ball while playing the pacers and playing creative shots according to the field,” he added.

My favourite was the maximum he hit over extra-cover against Adil Rashid: VVS Laxman

Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav. Image Credits: BCCI

Of the 6 fours and 3 sixes, Yadav hit in his sparkling innings, VVS Laxman’s favourite shot was the one where he charged down and harrumphed a googly by Adil Rashid over cover for a maximum. In fact, the Mumbai Indians batter took a liking to the leg-spinner smashing him for 23 runs off just 8 deliveries.

The 46-year-old cricketer-turned-commentator — VVS Laxman observed that Suryakumar is as adept at playing spin as he is good against the seamers which makes him a match-winner for the Men In Blue going forward.

“When the spinners came, (he played) fantastic shots. My favourite was the maximum he hit over extra-cover against Adil Rashid. He can play the sweep as well, so he is an all-round player and because of that, his strike rate is always high, and he is a match-winner,” the former middle-order batsman added.

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