IND vs ENG: "To Play With That Consistency At That Tempo, You're Going To Fail Occasionally"- Michael Atherton On Suryakumar Yadav's High-risk Playing Style

Michael Atherton, a former captain of England, thinks that Suryakumar Yadav is more likely than the others to have a disastrous day with the bat because of his high-risk playing style. 

The No. 1 T20I batter hasn’t made a mistake in a while, scoring over 1000 runs in 2022 at an unbelievable strike rate. 

The Mumbai-born batter’s most recent poor performance came against Pakistan in the Super 12 stage’s opening match. His most recent fifty, a mind-boggling 61 runs off 25 deliveries against Zimbabwe, was the third of three fifties he has made in four innings since then.

Suryakumar Yadav Has Been Very Consistent, But He May Just Have A Bad Day: Michael Atherton

Atherton acknowledged Suryakumar Yadav’s unquestionable talent while highlighting the risk that the strategy entails. The former captain told Sky Sports Cricket: 

“His average of 42 and strike rate of 180 puts him leagues ahead of someone else. But, to play with that consistency at that tempo, you’re going to fail occasionally. I know he has been very consistent, but he may just have a bad day.”  

The right-handed batter’s heroics have lit up the T20 World Cup. Taking into account the Super 12 stage, he only scores fewer runs than Virat Kohli overall in the competition. 

Both captains and players have something special to offer at the Adelaide Oval. Despite having a real batting surface, it is significantly smaller than other facilities in the nation. 

Australian grounds often have longer straight limits and wider square bounds, but the Adelaide venue has a true Oval design. 

Adelaide Would Play To Suryakumar Yadav’s Strengths

According to Atherton, the shorter square boundaries will benefit Suryakumar. 

“Adelaide has got short square boundaries and SKY’s strength is either slicing it behind point or flipping it behind square. So, you would think that the ground would play to his strengths.” 

Atherton continued: 

“Suryakumar Yadav is rightly the number one-ranked T20 cricket batter in the world right now. There are more established names there like Kohli, Rohit and KL Rahul, but I reckon he is the one that the England bowlers will be thinking the most about ahead of the game.” 

Suryakumar’s T20I debut against England in 2021 was fascinating. Even though he did not get to bat in his first game for the nation, he made a strong first impression by hitting Jofra Archer for a first-ball six in his debut innings. 

On Thursday, November 10, at the Adelaide Oval, India and England will play in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup. 

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