India defeated Afghanistan by 47 runs in their inaugural Super Eight encounter of the 2018 ICC T20 World Cup, which took place at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. It was an incredible match.
The highlight of the event was Suryakumar Yadav, who played a brilliant innings and used a calculated strategy to defeat Rashid Khan, the best spinner in Afghanistan and help India win.
After 11 overs, India was in a precarious situation at 90/4 following a difficult start. The pressure on the Indian batting lineup was growing from the Afghan spinners, especially captain Khan. At this juncture, Suryakumar teamed up with Hardik Pandya to lead the Men in Blue into a secure position.
“I encouraged Hardik as he came to bat that we should bat with the same intention and not leave it too late. The ball reversing would have made it challenging. I just said to him, “Let’s keep applying pressure and see where we end up after 16 overs.” Happy we made it to 180,” Yadav stated, via ESPNcricinfo.
I like to bat between overs 7 to 15. Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar shown mastery in T20 batting with an innings of 53 off 28 balls. The game-winning partnership between Hardik and Suryakumar, which lasted 60 runs off of just 37 balls, was created.
“When I play, I know exactly what I want to do. It’s really hard to select Rashid when he bowls. When I’m inside, I know what shots to play. You cannot allow him to dominate; he is the world’s best bowler. You need to stay one step ahead,” he continued.
Also read: T20 World Cup 2024: Afghanistan vs India, 43rd Match – Who Said What?
In his batting, he demonstrated this mentality by taking on the leg spinner and scoring 16 runs off just six deliveries, including two fours and a huge six. India managed to produce a competitive total of 181/8 thanks in large part to the 33-year-old’s ability to understand the game situation and adjust his batting appropriately.
“I’ve practiced that [batting in the middle overs] and have played a lot there, I enjoy batting in that phase, between overs seven to 15, that’s where teams try and control the game,” Suryakumar continued.
Afghanistan was bowled out for 134 by the Indian bowling attack, which was spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah’s outstanding statistics of 3/7 in four overs and a pivotal spell of 3/36 from Arshdeep Singh.
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