'You should've done it when you scored 3 ducks in a row': Sehwag's point-blank message to Suryakumar after 50 vs AUS

Suryakumar Yadav scored a much-needed half-century during the side's opening ODI of the three-match series against Australia.

Pacer Mohammed Shami delivered a standout performance, achieving his career-best figures of 5-51, while India batters displayed their prowess to secure a five-wicket triumph over Australia in the inaugural one-day of the three-match series on Friday. Having been put in to bat, Australia managed to post a total of 276 runs; in response, four of India's top six batters notched up half-centuries, guiding the home team to victory with eight balls to spare. One of those was Suryakumar Yadav, who has been going through a rough patch in the format for many months.

India's Suryakumar Yadav walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal during the first ODI vs Australia(AFP)

The last time Suryakumar faced Australia, it was a disaster for the batter as he endured three-successive ducks, eventually losing his place in the first XI. The team management, however, continued to show its faith in the batter and he finally notched up a much-needed fifty, scoring exactly 50 off 49 balls as he forged a crucial partnership with captain KL Rahul (58*), steering the side to a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

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It was reported by Cricbuzz that following the game in Mohali, Suryakumar Yadav was one of the batters who returned to the ground and had a knocking with the bat. Ravichandran Ashwin had also joined Suryakumar as the duo batted for some time after the win. During the post-match show, former India opener Virender Sehwag was asked on whether it helps the player and whether he used to do it himself.

Sehwag, though, had a rather unusual response and also had an advice for Suryakumar.

“I didn't need to. When you go out there, you put your 100 percent effort. Sometimes, you get out and it's fine. But for me, that was it. I wouldn't practice until the next day. I don't know the reasons why he was knocking after the game, but I believed that you prepared for this particular game, you had the chance, you made a mistake and got out. Focus on the mistake, the mindset is more important. The skills won't go anywhere, you don't need practice,” said Sehwag.

“It's the mindset. What were you thinking when you play that shot, whether it was the right decision or not. The mental tuning is more important. You should've focussed on skills when you had those three ducks in a row. Now that you've scored runs, you have to tune yourself mentally.”

India no.1 across formats

With the win on Saturday, India achieved a historic high in ICC rankings as it attained the no.1 ranking across all formats of the game. India displaced arch-rivals Pakistan to secure the top spot in the ODI rankings.

India had already secured the top position in both Test and T20 international rankings, making them the only second team after South Africa (in 2012) to achieve the ranking milestone.

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