Mr 360: Without Suryakumar Yadav, India will struggle to get 140-150, says Sunil Gavaskar
New Delhi, November 7
Suryakumar Yadav has evolved into the new Mr 360 degree and India will struggle to put up enough runs on the board if he fails to fire, says batting great Sunil Gavaskar.
Yadav, the world’s No. 1 T20 batter at the moment, has dazzled in his maiden T20 World Cup, playing scintillating innings in the Super 12 stage to help India reach the semifinals of the marquee event.
Against Zimbabwe, he smashed an unbeaten 61 off 25 balls while showcasing a variety of strokes in the breathless knock, which included drives, sweeps, pulls and an astounding scoop in the last over.
“Each of those innings was pretty much 360 degrees. He is the new Mr 360 degree,” Gavaskar said. “There was that one shot that he hit for a six just to the left of the wicketkeeper. Then he went a little squarer in the final overs, for example, taking advantage of the angle that the bowler was trying to aim at. Then also the lofted extra-cover drive, he has got every shot in the book. There was a straight drive as well,” he added.
The former India captain feels Yadav is the reason India have succeeded in scoring totals they could defend. “He is actually turning out to be the player who is taking India to totals which you can defend. The score India got was the highest T20I score at the MCG. Without his 61 not out, India would not have reached even 150,” he said.
The under-fire KL Rahul has also returned to form with back-to-back half-centuries in India’s last two games. Gavaskar said if Yadav fails Rahul will need to take charge.
“I think at the moment, there are two batters who are in prime form, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar. It was also good to see Rahul get yet another half-century, but he has to look to get more than that for a simple reason. If Surya doesn’t fire, then India will struggle to get 140-150. It’s therefore very important for Rahul to keep going,” he added.
Waiting on Rohit to fire
Skipper Rohit Sharma is having an underwhelming World Cup by his standards.
The opener has scored just 89 runs in five matches, with his only substantial knock being a 53 against the Netherlands. And Gavaskar is hoping that Sharma gets his act together.
“Well, let’s just hope he is saving the runs for the next two matches. They are going to be the biggest matches. In a group game, you know there’s another game to follow, so you maybe sometimes try a little too much and get out,” Gavaskar said.
“Now, these are knockout games. In a knockout game, you can’t afford to experiment too much. You need to be at your best. Let’s hope that Rohit comes good,” he added. — PTI
Scoop of the day: Rubber-ball cricket behind SKY’s scoop shot mastery
Melbourne: Suryakumar Yadav’s astounding scoop shot off Zimbabwe pacer Richard Ngarava became a talking point in the T20 World Cup and the Indian batter says he mastered the unorthodox stroke after years of practice with a rubber ball.
Yadav mesmerised the 82,000-strong MCG crowd with his stroke-making ability on Sunday. His unbeaten 61-run knock off just 25 balls powered India to an imposing 186/5. The 32-year-old struck four sixes and six boundaries in his knock. But one shot that stood out was on the last ball of the Indian innings. Going down on one knee, Yadav picked up Ngarava’s full toss from outside the off-stump and scooped it on the right of fine leg for a six.
The audacious shot became an instant hit, with the likes of Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar lauding it. “You got to understand what the bowler is going to bowl at that time, which is a little pre-determined at that moment. I have practised that stroke a lot when I used to play rubber-ball cricket,” Yadav said on a TV show.
