We want everyone to be fearless - Suryakumar Yadav lauds batters after strong 101-run win in 1st T20I

India registered a fine win to kickstart their T20I series against South Africa, thanks to a dominant all-round performance from Hardik Pandya. India captain Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t really score heavily but did a fine job as the skipper, getting the bowling and fielding maneuvers in place to fuel the Men in Blue past the Proteas.

Talking at the post-match presentation, SKY opened up on the conditions in the series opener while underlining the course of the game. He heaped special praise on his batters for staging a solid turnaround of affairs after an early scare while also acknowledging how his bowlers ruled the roost emphatically to secure a dominant win.

Shedding light on the game, SKY said, “I told at the toss that we were 50-50, but very happy to bat first. I mean, absolutely. At 48 for 3, and then from there getting to 175… the way Hardik batted, Axar batted, Tilak batted, and in the end Jitesh coming in, chipping in and doing his role, I think it was very important.”

He further added, “At first, we thought we’d get to 160, but then 175 was unbelievable. I mean, absolutely. See, with 7-8 batters, there will be days when 2-3 batters won’t have their day, but then the other 4 batters will cover it up and they did cover it up today. Maybe in the next game you’ll see someone else covering it up. That’s how T20 cricket goes, and that’s how we want everyone to play. We want everyone to be fearless and enjoy their batting. India is having a great run.”

He concluded with a special word for his bowlers, stating, “I think Arshdeep and Bumrah were the perfect bowlers to bowl at the start. The way they were bowling when they won the toss and bowled first, the way the new ball was being bowled by them, I think Arshdeep and Bumrah were the better option. But then Hardik coming in later on, coming back from injury, it was important to take care of him as well. And the way he bowled, I’m very happy with it. I mean, batting first, 48 for 3 and then scoring about 90-91 runs from overs 7 to 15, and then finishing with 40-44 runs in the last five overs to get to 175… I think it was really, really commendable. The way we bowled, the amount of options we had, I think 175 was quite decent”