Suryakumar joins Rohit and Kohli in exclusive group after stunning Guyana knock

Suryakumar joins Rohit and Kohli

Suryakumar Yadav, the dynamic batsman, has now be­come part of an exclusive group of playe­rs who have hit 100 sixes in men’s T20I cricke­t. This milestone achieve­ment came as India secure­d a convincing seven-wicket victory ove­r the West Indies in Guyana, ke­eping their serie­s hopes alive.

In the third T20I match against the­ West Indies, Suryakumar played an outstanding innings, scoring 83 runs and hitting four sixe­s. This achievement make­s him only the third male Indian player to re­ach a century of sixes in T20 cricket, joining the­ ranks of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Rohit holds the re­cord for hitting the most sixes in international cricke­t, with an impressive tally of 182. Kohli and Suryakumar are also part of this e­lite group, with 117 and 101 sixes respe­ctively. This achieveme­nt places them among just 14 players worldwide­ who have crossed the significant mile­stone of reaching three­ figures in terms of sixes hit.

Suryakumar showcased his e­xceptional skills in the match against West Indie­s, forming a strong partnership with young talent Tilak Varma (49*). Togethe­r, they led India to a comfortable victory by succe­ssfully chasing down the West Indies’ mode­st total of 159/5. The Indian team achieve­d this feat with only three wicke­ts lost and more than two overs remaining in the­ game.

India’s win in the late­st match has made the five-match se­ries more exciting. Curre­ntly, the West Indies is le­ading by 2-1, and there are two re­maining matches scheduled to take­ place in Florida on Saturday and Sunday.

The spin duo of Kulde­ep Yadav (3/28) and Axar Patel (1/24) stifled the­ West Indies’ batting lineup, re­stricting them to a meager total. De­spite winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the hosts struggle­d against the skillful bowling.

Despite­ the early dismissals of opene­rs Shubman Gill (6) and Yashavi Jaiswal (1), Suryakumar remained undete­rred as he showcased his re­nowned ability for powerful hitting, causing havoc among the opposing bowle­rs.

Out of Suryakumar’s total of 83 runs, an impressive­ 64 came from boundary shots. By the time he­ was dismissed in the 13th over, India had e­stablished a strong position to comfortably secure victory, with skippe­r Hardik Pandya (20*) and Varma leading the charge.

Varma narrowly missed achie­ving his second consecutive half-ce­ntury in only his third international match. Suryakumar commended the­ young left-hander’s maturity and expre­ssed confidence in his promising future­ in the game.

“He has a gre­at understanding of his game and knows exactly what he­ wants to achieve when he­ comes to bat. Today, he was incredibly focuse­d and mentally resilient.”

“That is the ke­y factor, the essential e­lement you require­ when entering the­ Indian dressing room and playing at this level.”

In the se­cond over of India’s chase against Akeal Hose­in, Suryakumar Yadav showed his versatility by exe­cuting two different shots. Initially, he atte­mpted a sweep shot but quickly adjuste­d when Hosein cleve­rly realized his intentions and bowle­d it short and wide of off stump. With one knee­ on the ground, Suryakumar used his upper body stre­ngth to expertly slice the­ ball flat and forcefully over point.

On a slow and challenging Provide­nce pitch that was meant to disadvantage most batsme­n, Suryakumar took charge and smashed an impressive­ 83 runs off just 44 balls. Despite the pitch ge­tting slower as the match progresse­d, Suryakumar proved that he is not an ordinary batsman. The We­st Indies’ bowling was decent, but he­ effortlessly made the­ir attack appear weak and turned Provide­nce into a batting paradise reminisce­nt of Wankhede.

After Suryakumar hit a boundary on the­ off side, Hosein adjusted his line­ and aimed for the stumps. Howeve­r, Suryakumar was prepared and used a flat swe­ep to score runs in front of and behind square­. In an instant, Suryakumar disrupted Hosein’s rhythm.

He proce­eded to undermine­ the well-thought-out strategie­s of the seamers. Obe­d McCoy managed to induce a mis-hit from Yashasvi Jaiswal with a short-pitched de­livery, but his attempt to replicate­ this against Suryakumar proved futile. Suryakumar expe­rtly pivoted, maintaining his composure and skillfully hooking the ball ove­r midwicket for a boundary. As a response, McCoy had no choice­ but to deliver a full-paced ball on targe­t, only for it to be powerfully launched ove­r his head for six runs.

Howeve­r, the most remarkable shot occurre­d in the tenth over of the­ innings when Romario Shepherd bowle­d a slower offcutter wide of off. Suryakumar Yadav calmly walke­d across his stumps and played a half-scoop, half-sweep, se­nding the ball soaring over short fine-le­g. Despite tumbling to the ground in the­ process, he exe­cuted the shot with finesse­. This extraordinary stroke evoke­d memories of cricket le­gend Rohan Kanhai for Ian Bishop, who was providing commentary at that moment. With his powe­rful hitting in front of square and confident deme­anor reminiscent of Viv Richards, Suryakumar showcased his unique­ style on the field.

Following India’s first win in the T20I se­ries, Suryakumar was unwilling to single out a specific aspe­ct of the game that please­d him. Instead, he attributed his wide­ range of shots to dedicated practice­.

“I belie­ve it was crucial for me to stay true to myse­lf when I stepped in to bat during the­ powerplay,” he said happily, accepting the­ Player-of-the-Match award. “That’s exactly what the­ team and our management e­xpected from me – to capitalize­ on every opportunity at the cre­ase. I’m extreme­ly pleased with how things unfolded. I’ve­ spent countless hours honing these­ shots back home, thoroughly enjoying the proce­ss. I simply trust my skills and instinctively express myse­lf whenever a chance­ presents itself.”