The scars of losing a World Cup final run deep, especially when you were the favourites to win. Even more when you haven't won an ICC tournament for a decade and a World Cup for more than 12 years. Suryakumar Yadav and his young side did their best to put balm on the scars by defeating Australia with India's highest successful run-chase in a T20I but could not ease out the pain much. What happened on November 19 in Ahmedabad was far more significant than what transpired on Thursday (November 23) in Visakhapatnam. Billions of Indian fans would have happily traded the narrow two-wicket win last night with the six-wicket defeat in the World Cup final. So would the Indian players. But that's not how sport works. That's not how life pans out.
The Indian cricketers involved in the World Cup final haven't moved on mentally. KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Shubman Gill, and Surya himself have taken to social media to let the world know. Therefore, it is unfair to expect the fans will. That too so quickly. And they didn't.
Surya, leading India for the first time in the absence of the injured Hardik Pandya, was a different man on Thursday. Sure he would still be hurting by the loss in the summit clash four nights ago but his batting display showed no sign of that. The guy who seemingly bottled under pressure in the final was back at his elementary. What a difference a change of format makes!
Is Suryakumar Yadav India's first-ever one-format world beater?
Surya, who struggled on the slow and sluggish Motera track in the final, scoring 18 off 28 balls in the death overs, smashed the bowlers to different parts of the ground in the first T20I. His 80 off 42 was the main reason why India could chase down 209. The ficks were flowing, the ramp shots were well-timed, the booming sweep shot didn't let the spinners settle and in between, there was ample strike rotation. If there ever was a guidebook written on T20 batting, Surya would feature in it multiple times.
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{{/usCountry}}Surya, who struggled on the slow and sluggish Motera track in the final, scoring 18 off 28 balls in the death overs, smashed the bowlers to different parts of the ground in the first T20I. His 80 off 42 was the main reason why India could chase down 209. The ficks were flowing, the ramp shots were well-timed, the booming sweep shot didn't let the spinners settle and in between, there was ample strike rotation. If there ever was a guidebook written on T20 batting, Surya would feature in it multiple times.
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{{/usCountry}}He just seems to be in control of things in T20s. The pitch, the opposition, the match situation, everything seems irrelevant. It's just Surya and the ball. And the former wins way too often. He is so damn consistent in the most volatile format of the game. There have been countless examples of mystery bowlers in cricket but Surya most likely is the first mystery batter. The bowlers know his strong points - which mind you, are plenty. The captain sets fields accordingly but all come a cropper in the middle. Surya still finds ways to hit the gaps. Is it the confidence? Or the sheer weightage of success that he has had in this format? Go figure!
The same, however, is nowhere to be seen in ODIs. In the World Cup, barring the England match, where he played a crucial 49 off 47 there was nothing else from Surya's bat. The SKY of T20Is hits the ground in ODIs far too often for comfort. And this is nothing new. The Indian team management persisted with Surya in the ODI despite his dwindling returns in the 50-over format. They gambled, like many would, on his superior T20 returns. No other batter had scored that many runs consistently and that strike rate (173) in the shortest format of the game. How can he not succeed in ODIs?
To be fair to Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, they tried everything to make Surya succeed in ODIs. They gave him No.4, they tried him at No.3, they even made him open for a few games in the West Indies and when nothing worked, they decided to create a T20-like scenario in the ODIs by making sure Surya came into bat in the last 15 overs of the match. But nothing worked, at least not to the extent the team management or the fans would have liked to. 35 innings at an average of 25 is a good enough sample for that.
What is Surya's problem in ODIs?
It is difficult to put a finger at one particular reason but chances are high it is due to the conditions. In T20s, the pitches are largely batting-friendly everywhere in the world. The ball comes onto the bat quite well. The bounce is true. Surya, being predominantly a backfoot player unlike most other Indian batters, thrives in these conditions. Extra bounce works in his favour. He was the only Indian batter to counter the excessive bounce on offer from the Perth track in the T20 World Cup match against South Africa in 2022.
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden said there is a technical reason too that stops Surya from succeeding in ODIs. "Surya needs to come at the ball at times in ODIs. He likes to hang back and access the areas behind the wicket. That works on placid tracks and in T20Is, but on slow tracks in ODIs, he can't get pace on the ball. If he uses his front foot more and even charges down the track at times, it can work," he said.
Softer ball also plays its part. In T20Is, Surya generally comes into the crease when the ball is fairly hard and new. In ODIs, however, especially while batting at No.6, the ball gets scuffed up by the it's his turn to bat. He needs to generate all the pace. And when fast bowlers like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood bowl cutters on a slow wicket, it doesn't get any easier for him.
The more Surya dispatched the ball to the boundary in the series-opening T20I, the stronger the belief became: Is Surya India's first-ever world beater in one format? There have been players who have excelled for India one format - particularly in Test cricket. The most recent one being Cheteshwar Pujara, who played more than 100 Tests with an average of 43 but was never quite considered for any other format - he played only 5 ODIs.
There's still a long way to go but what Surya has done in his two and half year long T20I career presents a strong case for him to be considered as India's first one-format match-winner. Try explaining that to the fans.
Suryakumar plays a match-winning knock in T20I but fans still hurting because of World Cup final
Coming in to bat at 22/2, Surya took charge of proceedings and hit nine fours and four sixes. Whether it was the left-arm pace of Jason Behrendorff, the right-arm seam of Nathan Elis or the leg spin of Tanveer Sangha, Surya didn't spare anyone, marching his way to Australia's total.
"I think it's a proud moment, whenever you play cricket, you think of representing India, it will take some time to sink in but very proud," he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"I left the (captaincy) luggage in the dressing room. I just tried to enjoy my batting, whether I am batting 10 or 40 balls," said Surya when asked how to compartmentalise batting and leadership. Rinku Singh, all of six T20Is 'old' scored 22 not out off 14 balls and finished the game when it was just slipping out of hand. The way the boys kept their nerve was great to see. It was a tailor-made situation for Rinku. His composure relaxed me also," Surya said.
Surya may have left the luggage of captaincy in the dressing room on Thursday but he carries too much of it in other formats.