The final group stage match of the 2022 T20 World Cup, between India and Zimbabwe, might have lacked that drama which most matches of the tournament had, but Suryakumar Yadav did his part of the job, both for his team and for the 82,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with his breathtaking knock of 25-ball 61 which helped the Men in Blue script a 71-run win and top the table. Following the match, India head coach Rahul Dravid had an absolute gold remark for Suryakumar's knock.
On Sunday, the No.1 ranked T20I batter showed why he is the most feared batsman in the India's line-up. He clobbered six boundaries and four maximums in his unbeaten knock, which included a ridiculous scoop shot, against a full toss delivery down the sixth-stump line, over fine leg fence.
With 225 runs, Suryakumar is now the second-highest run-getter with that knock, standing only behind Virat Kohli (246), but it is his strike rate of 193.96 leaves everyone in the shade. Dravid was too was short of words to describe Suryakumar's stunning knock in the post-match presser.
"Yeah, it's incredible. That's why he is the No. 1 T20 player in the world at the moment, because of that consistency in a format where scoring at a strike rate that he does actually doesn't -- it's not easy to be consistent with the kind of strike rate he's going at. So, it's just fantastic the way he's playing. I think he's been very clear in his processes. He's very clear about his tactics. I think he's worked very hard. I think one of the things about Surya is just the amount of hard work that he's put in in the nets, in thinking about his game, his fitness. If I look at Surya from a couple of years ago, just to see how he takes care of his body and the amount of time he spends on his fitness, I think he's just really earning the reward for a lot of the hard work that he's put in on and off the field, and long may it continue.
{{/usCountry}}"Yeah, it's incredible. That's why he is the No. 1 T20 player in the world at the moment, because of that consistency in a format where scoring at a strike rate that he does actually doesn't -- it's not easy to be consistent with the kind of strike rate he's going at. So, it's just fantastic the way he's playing. I think he's been very clear in his processes. He's very clear about his tactics. I think he's worked very hard. I think one of the things about Surya is just the amount of hard work that he's put in in the nets, in thinking about his game, his fitness. If I look at Surya from a couple of years ago, just to see how he takes care of his body and the amount of time he spends on his fitness, I think he's just really earning the reward for a lot of the hard work that he's put in on and off the field, and long may it continue.
{{/usCountry}}I think he's been absolutely phenomenal for us. He's just a joy to watch. It's a pleasure to watch him bat when he's in that kind of form. Every time it's like he puts on a show, without a doubt," he said.
Dravid also said that the team could make changes for the semi-final match against England showdown depending on the Adelaide pitch but the team's mindset would remain consistent.
"At this level, most of these guys are incredibly motivated," he said. "You don't need to tell them to do anything extra."