‘We wanted to express ourselves in all departments’: Suryakumar Yadav after India’s 3-1 T20 series win over South Africa

AHMEDABAD: India skipper Suryakumar Yadav credited India’s 3-1 T20 series win over South Africa to the team sticking to their brand of cricket and expressing themselves freely.

He highlighted the team’s relentless intent, especially in batting. Yadav also lauded Washington Sundar’s performance and the team’s response to pressure.

Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy’s fantastic performance helped Team India register a 30-run win against South Africa in the fifth and final T20I at Narendra Modi Stadium here on Friday.

“From the start of the series, we wanted to stick to a particular brand of cricket, and we did exactly that. We didn’t try to do anything different. We wanted to express ourselves in all departments, and the results are right there in front of everyone. This is something we felt was missing in our last few series. This is exactly how we wanted to bat. Once someone gets going, they don’t stop. We wanted that relentless intent, and today it worked beautifully,” Suryakumar Yadav said after the match.

“We wanted to try something different. The plan was to use Bumrah in one over in the powerplay, control the middle phase after drinks and then have him ready for the death overs. Washi stepped up brilliantly today and took responsibility. We were under pressure at times, we were challenged, but this game is about how you respond and the boys did really well,” he added.

India posted 231/5, fueled by Varma’s blistering 73 (42 balls) and Pandya’s explosive 63 (25 balls). Pandya’s fifty, reached in just 16 balls, made him the second-fastest Indian to achieve the milestone in T20Is, after Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball blitz.

India were 115 for 3 at one stage before Hardik and Tilak stitched a solid fourth-wicket stand of 105 runs off 44 balls to propel the side to a massive total.

In reply, Varun Chakravarthy picked up a four-wicket haul to help India register a series-clinching win, while Hardik also chipped in with a wicket from his three overs. (ANI)