Usman Tariq had just come on to bowl and the match was very interestingly poised at the time. Surya Kumar Yadav and Tilak Varma were batting, and a couple of quick wickets could still have given Pakistan an opportunity. Tariq was the man of the moment, based on all the hype. He got into his delivery stride and took his much-talked-about pause. Surya, on strike, stayed completely still – no trigger movement, nothing at all. It was as if the Indian skipper had read Tariq inside out.
When the bowler finally delivered after the microsecond pause, Surya was ready. He pulled the first ball into the gap between long-on and midwicket for a boundary, and the mental battle had been won.
In that one ball, Surya had shown the world how to play Tariq: stay completely still and beat the bowler in the mind. Tariq wasn’t able to run through India on a wicket that offered assistance, and the game had decisively moved India’s way.
Surya’s approach reminded me of what Rohit Sharma once said to me about staying still at the crease. Sample this from the former India skipper about his approach to Tim Southee in a Super Over in New Zealand: “Batting in a Super Over is different. In this game I was moving a lot inside the crease in the first half of the Super Over and wasn’t able to connect the way I wanted to. That’s when I realised I needed to do things differently.
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“My mind went back to a game between the Mumbai Indians and the Gujarat Lions in the IPL a couple of seasons earlier. Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum were batting for the Lions and I had handed the ball to Jasprit Bumrah. With Jasprit, you know he is in control. However, this occasion was somewhat different. Jasprit walked up to me and asked if he should bowl the wide yorker or a low full toss. This was Jasprit Bumrah, the best in the world, and even he was under pressure against two very good batsmen.
“When I thought back to this game, I said to myself that Tim Southee, who was bowling to me, would also be feeling the pressure, for he knew I was capable of hitting big sixes. All I needed to do was stay calm and move as little as possible. If I stayed still, the chances of me connecting were that much greater. And that’s exactly what happened.
“Southee bowled one in my zone, which I dispatched for a six, and all of a sudden the tables had turned. Once I had hit a six off the fifth ball, I knew I would be able to close it out for India. All the pressure was now on Southee and it was more than likely he would make a mistake. He did, and I hit another six to finish things off. The trick was to stay still.”
That is precisely what Surya did against Tariq. And now the world will follow. It was a delight to see Surya bat on a tough surface, for that is what differentiates the best from the rest.
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