VISAKHAPATNAM: Following his side’s two-wicket win over Australia, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav expressed happiness with how the youngsters held their nerves and added that he left the burden of his captaincy in the dressing room.
An explosive century by Josh Inglis and a 130-run partnership with Steve Smith powered Australia to 208/3 in the first T20I against India at Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
“Very happy with the way the boys played. Was very happy with their energy, we were put under pressure but the way everyone showed up was amazing. It is a proud moment, very proud moment, every time you play, you think about representing India but coming out here and captaining India is a big moment. Thought there would be a little bit of dew but there was not. It is not a big ground and I knew batting would get easy. Thought they might get 230-235 but the bowlers did really well,” said Suryakumar in the post-match presentation.
“Just enjoy and express yourself (message to batters). We have been in such situations many times in franchise cricket, just told Ishan (Kishan) to enjoy himself. We knew what was going to happen. I left the luggage of captaincy in the dressing room. I try to enjoy my batting. The atmosphere was amazing, thanks to the crowd. Was great to see how the boys kept their nerves. Was great to see Rinku, the situation was tailor-made for him. He was calm and collected, calmed me down a little bit. Incredible achievement from the bowlers to restrict them to this total after the 16th over,” he added.
Coming to the match, India opted to bowl first. Though they got Matthew Short (13) early, the partnership of 130 runs between Josh Inglis (110 in 50 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes) and Steve Smith (52 off 41 balls, with eight fours) put Men in Blue on backfoot. Rest, the finishing by Tim David (19*) took Australia to 208/3 in 20 overs.
Prasidh Krishna (1/50) and Ravi Bishnoi (1/54) took a wicket each for India.
In the chase of 209, India lost Ruturaj Gaikwad (0) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (21) early, leaving Men in Blue at 22/2. However, a 112-run stand between Ishan Kishan (58 in 39 balls, with two fours and five sixes) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (80 In 42 balls, with nine fours and four sixes) brought back India into the game. Finishing touches by Rinku Singh (22* in 14 balls, with four boundaries) helped India reach the target with two wickets in hand, despite some tense run-outs in the final over.
Tanveer Sangha (2/47) was the best bowler for Aussies. Matthew Short, Sean Abbott and Jason Behrendorff took a wicket each. (ANI)