"More than last over, I feel..." - 'Leader' Suryakumar Yadav denies taking credit for India's thrilling 3rd T20I win vs Sri Lanka

The Suryakumar Yadav-led India National Cricket Team went head-to-head with the Charith Asalanka-led Sri Lanka National Cricket Team in the 3rd and final T20I of the India tour of Sri Lanka 2024 on Tuesday, July 30, at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

The Men In Blue headed into the clash with not much on the line, having already sealed the series after winning the first two matches. In the first T20I, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side sealed a 43-run victory after posting 213/7 on the board.

It was a terrific display from the visitors as they batted exceptionally well with the skipper Suryakumar Yadav leading from the front. With the ball, they were great, too, as the bowlers hunted in packs after a poor start and restricted the opposition to 170.

The story of the second T20I was pretty similar as the Indian bowling unit initially struggled to get wickets, but once they got going, they restricted the hosts to 161/9. Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya bagged two wickets each, while Ravi Bishnoi got three wickets.

The match was interrupted by rain in the second innings, and India were given a revised target of 78, which they chased down with 9 balls remaining and 7 wickets in hand.

I don't want to be the captain, I want to be the leader - Suryakumar Yadav

Talking about the third T20I, India were invited to bat first, and after a poor batting show, they managed to put up a total of 137 runs. Defending the total, it looked like India would lose the match, but the last two overs from Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav made sure that the match got tied, and it went into the Super Over. In the Super Over contest, India got a target of just 3 runs, which they chased down on the first ball.

At the post-match presentation ceremony, Suryakumar Yadav, who won the Player of the Series award, denied taking any credit for the win and said that more than his last over, the performance of Indian batters contributed to the win. Suryakumar Yadav said:

"More than the last over, I feel when we were around 30/4, how the boys showed character, 140 was a par score on that track. I told, if we put our heart in, we could pull it off.

Suryakumar Yadav further showered rich praise on his players, saying that they are confident and play with positivity. He signed off by saying that he doesn't want to be a captain, but a leader. Suryakumar Yadav elaborated:

"The amount of skill they have, self confidence, it makes my job easy. The positivity, the care for each other is unbelievable. After the last game, I told few boys will be rested and they were ready to sit out. They have made my job easy. I have little pressure when I bat. Like I said before the series, I don't want to be the captain, I want to be the leader."

The action now moves to the three-match ODI series as India and Sri Lanka will lock horns with each other on August 2, 4 and 7 in Colombo.