Gautam Gambhir went up to Suryakumar Yadav during ‘break’, advice shaped up Wankhede masterclass: ‘You can cover it’

Suryakumar Yadav revealed how head coach Gautam Gambhir's advice helped him stay calm during the T20 World Cup match against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium.

Suryakumar Yadav, the India captain, stepped up for the two-time T20 World Cup champions in the team's opening match of the 10th edition of the tournament against the USA on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium. Before the game started, everyone was saying ‘300, 300’, seemingly anticipating the run fest. When the USA captain Monank Patel won the toss and opted to bowl, the Wankhede crowd cheered in unison, expecting a carnage at the hands of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan up top.

Suryakumar Yadav revealed how head coach Gautam Gambhir's advice helped him (AP)

However, everyone was brought to reality in the second over of the game as Ali Khan dismissed Abhishek Sharma for a duck. The USA then started to strangle the Indian batters, and in no time, the defending champions found themselves reeling at 77/6 in the 13th over. Suryakumar was still at the crease, and the hopes of posting a respectable total rested on his shoulders. The Indian captain did the needful, slamming an unbeaten 84 off 49 balls to help India post 161/9 in the 20 overs, and this proved to be enough as the hosts eked out a 29-run win.

After the match against the USA, Suryakumar revealed how head coach Gautam Gambhir gave him a crucial message during the drinks break in the batting innings. The small break in the first innings saw Gambhir walking out to the middle alongside Sanju Samson, and the cameras picked up the former India opening batter having a small chat with Suryakumar.

“I always felt that there was a need for a batter to bat till the end. I never felt that it was a 180–190 wicket. I felt it was a 140 wicket. But then Gauti bhai told me the same thing during the break after 14 overs. He told me, ‘Just try and bat till the end; you can cover it any time'," Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation.

"And also, the most important thing is that I have played a lot of my cricket in Bombay, on this wicket and on the maidans of Mumbai cricket. So I know how to bat on similar kinds of wickets,” he added.

Suryakumar's knock was studded with 10 boundaries and 4 sixes, and the unleashed mayhem off the bowling of Saurabh Netravalkar. The USA pacer conceded 65 runs in four overs, and the bulk of the runs came off the Indian captain's bat.

Suryakumar provides update on Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah

Suryakumar also provided updates on Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah after the win against the USA. The latter missed the game owing to an illness, while the former didn't join the squad as he's still recovering from an injury.

The Indian captain confirmed that the spin-bowling all-rounder will link up with the squad in Delhi before the game against Namibia on February 12.

“Washi is joining us in Delhi. He's good. Everything is fine. Bumrah had a high fever due to the weather, like Abhishek. But rest, everything is good,” said Suryakumar.