IND vs NZ: "It Was Really Important For Me To Bat Till The Very End"- Suryakumar Yadav After His Terrific Century In 2nd T20I vs New Zealand
Published - 20 Nov 2022, 04:09 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:14 AM

In the second T20 International match on Sunday, India registered 191 for six against New Zealand thanks to another brilliant century from the in-form Suryakumar Yadav. Ishan Kishan faced 31 balls for his 36 runs at the Bay Oval while India, who was given the opportunity to bat first, lost Rishabh Pant (6) early.
Suryakumar continued in the same vein after a successful T20 World Cup run and hammered his way to an unbeaten 111 off only 51 balls. He scored seven sixes and eleven fours.

It Was Important To Maximise The Last Few Overs: Suryakumar Yadav
Speaking after his spectacular knock, Suryakumar Yadav said:
“In T20, a hundred is always special but at the same time, it was really important for me to bat till the very end. Hardik was telling me to bat till the 18th or 19th over, and get to a score of 185 or so.
After the end of the 16th over, we had a chat about taking it deep. It was important to maximise the last few overs. Have been doing the same things over and over again, in the nets and it’s just coming off for me.”

In place of Virat Kohli, Surya batted at number three and pounded up boundaries and sixes at will, scoring his final 64 runs in the space of just 18 balls. Even though it didn’t appear simple to the untrained eye, Surya maintained it “simple” and used his incredible variety of strokes in accordance with the field placements.
He was content to play the inside-out shot over cover if the spinners pitched it full on his off stump, and he assisted the ball’s passage over fine leg for a number of sixes when the faster bowlers attacked his stumps on a good length. Surya collected a total of seven sixes and 11 fours.

He needed 49 balls to reach his second century, which he did with an aerial drive that missed sweeper cover. In the penultimate over, which was bowled by Lockie Ferguson, Surya went off the rails, smashing four boundaries and an incredible six over deep point. With Surya in form, the fast bowler had obviously run out of strategies.