Suryakumar Yadav drops blunt statement on Abhishek Sharma, Josh Hazlewood after India’s loss in MCG T20I

Suryakumar Yadav's India National Cricket Team played the second T20I match of the ongoing India tour of Australia 2025 on Friday, October 31, at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

India suffered a 4-wicket defeat in the match to hand the Aussies a 1-0 lead in the series. The third T20I of the five-match series will be hosted by the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Sunday, November 2.

Credit goes to him, he bowled really well - Suryakumar Yadav hails Josh Hazlewood

India lost the toss and were invited to bat first in the match. Josh Hazlewood made life hell for the Indian batters and registered figures of 3/13 in four overs he bowled with the new ball.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

The only player who wasn't troubled by Josh Hazlewood was Abhishek Sharma, who blasted 68 runs off 37 balls, while Harshit Rana contributed 35 runs as India scored 125 runs.

Defending the target, Indian bowlers tried their best and took the match as deep as they could. Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy bagged two wickets each, but Australia finished off the run chase with 40 balls remaining.

During the post-match presentation, India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav lavished rich praise on Josh Hazlewood for his exceptional spell with the new ball. He stated:

'(on Hazlewood) Absolutely. The way he bowled in the powerplay - if you’re four down early, it’s very difficult to recover. Credit goes to him, he bowled really well."

He’s been doing this for a while now - Suryakumar Yadav hails Abhishek Sharma

Suryakumar Yadav further lauded the left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma and was hopeful of him sticking with the same brand of cricket going forward. He said:

"(on Abhishek) He’s been doing this for a while now. He knows his game, knows his identity, and it’s good he’s not changing it - that’s what’s brought him success. Hopefully, he sticks with it and plays many more knocks like this for us."

Suryakumar Yadav further said that they are aiming to bat well in the next game and then defend the target. He asserted:

"(Quick turnaround for the next game) We need to do the same thing what we did in the first game - bat really well if we’re batting first, put nice runs on the board and then come out and defend."

IND vs AUS T20I series opener was washed out

The first T20I between India and Australia was hosted by Manuka Oval in Canberra on October 29. India's toss losing streak continued, and they were invited to bat first in the match by Mitchell Marsh.

Openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill provided a decent start to India, with the former trying to play his natural ultra-aggressive brand of cricket.

However, the Aussies managed to keep Abhishek Sharma quiet as the left-hander was only able to score 19 runs off 14 balls, with 4 fours, before falling to the right-arm quick Nathan Ellis.

After his dismissal, Suryakumar came out in the middle and he played one of his best innings in a long time. He took on Josh Hazlewood very well before the rain interrupted the play.

There were numerous rain interruptions in the game before the match was officially called off. Shubman Gill remained unbeaten at 37 runs off 20 balls while Suryakumar Yadav was unbeaten at 39 runs off 24 balls as India ended up with 97/1 in 9.4 overs.

Also Read: Shivam Dube's legendary T20I streak officially ends; Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav also suffer at MCG