After easy wins on consecutive days, India’s new T20 skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, made it apparent that his team’s future in the shortest format will be shaped by their fearless approach and good aim.
The captain of India felt confident in his team’s attitude after his team defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets on Sunday and 43 runs on Saturday to win the T20 International series.
“We spoke about this before the start of the tournament – what brand of cricket we want to play. This is the template we want to go ahead with,” said Suryakumar, who has been phenomenal as usual with the willow on both the days.
After Sri Lanka suffered yet another batting collapse, limiting them to 161 for 9 after reaching 130 for 2 in 15 overs, the day’s target was rewritten to 78 in 8 overs because of a severe period of rain that consumed overs.
“With the weather around, anything below 160 would have been nice. Rain helped us. The way the boys batted was wonderful,” he said.
Surya was asked if there was a chance for some of the reserve bench boys to get a look-in with one meaningless game remaining.
“We’ll sit and decide when asked if they’ll test their bench strength. Very happy for the boys. Showed a lot of character in tough situations.”
Happily, the incorrect people have been working for him constantly, according to Ravi Bishnoi, India’s resident googly specialist in the shortest format.
“The pitch was a little different from yesterday. It was turning a bit. Today, in the first innings it was helping the spinners. I stick to my plans.
“I just love bowling the wrong ‘uns. It’s a good responsibility to have bowling in the death, as it means the captain and the management trust me.”
Charith Asalanka, the captain of Sri Lanka, was disappointed that the middle order failed once more when it mattered most.
“I am really disappointed with the way we batted at the death. We must really improve. This pitch, when the ball gets older, it gets tough to bat. As professional cricketers, we have to do better.”
“We were behind by 15-18 runs. Weather also played its part. It’s not easy to bowl eight overs with a wet outfield,” Asalanka said.
