It was Suryakumar Yadav’s night at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday. In the format that he flourishes the most, Suryakumar, donning the captain’s armband, dished out yet another blistering knock to equal Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell for the most T20I hundreds ever (4). The knock, coupled with a clinical bowling performance from Kuldeep Yadav, saw India script an emphatic 106-run win against South Africa and subsequently end the three-match contest with a 1-1 draw. The opening game of the series was washed out in Durban while South Africa cruised to a comfortable win in Port Elizabeth in the second game.
World cricket couldn’t stop praising Suryakumar for his wonderful knock, however, a certain incident from the match, pertaining to the India captain, left a former Indian cricketer disappointed and shocked as he put out a tweet questioning the star batter’s act in the 19th over of the first innings on Thursday.
In the final delivery of the 19th over, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma worked the low full toss from Nandre Burger through deep point. He immediately called for a run, but Suryakumar, who stood at the other end of the crease, and batting on 98, denied the single.
Taken aback by that act from the India captain, Shreevats Goswami took to X to write: “Not sure when the transition took place from cricket being a team game to a individual game ? Just not on !! #shocking.”
Suryakumar’s fiery knock and Rinku Singh finding his groove by the end of the 18th over left South Africa staring at a total in well in excess of 200. India were already on 186 for three and a score of 215 seemed plausible with India’s two finest T20 batters at the crease. But Burger reedemed himself with a superb bowling in the penultimate over. After being smashed for 37 runs in the first three overs, he dismissed Rinku in the third ball of the 19th over to conceed just six runs off it.
Suryakumar perhaps was keen on rather taking matters into his own hands after what had unfolded in the 19th over and hence probably sent Jitesh back, but the India captain failed to gain much from his strategy as Lizaad Williams dismissed him in the delivery after he notched up his fourth T20I hundred. India lost two more in the next four balls to huff and puff their way past the 200-run mark.
Kuldeep however pulled things back with his sensational 5 for 17, along with Ravindra Jadeja’s 2 for25 as India folded South Africa for just 95 runs.
