Perth: How will Suryakumar Yadav fare on Australian pitches? How effective Suryakumar Yadav will be against genuine quick bowlers? They were some of the points pondered over in the run-up to the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
On a chilly Sunday night at the Optus Stadium, Suryakumar answered doubters with an innings of rare quality and calibre against a top class South Africa attack. His 68 lifted India to a respectable 133 for 9 on a responsive Perth pitch but then SA found their own heroes in David Miller (59) and Aiden Markram (52) as they overhauled the target in the 20th over with just two balls to spare.
Pacy Perth pitch
But the genesis of that five-wicket win was in their outstanding bowling effort, as their pacers understood the nature of the 22-yard trampoline and bowled accordingly. It was not a pitch that offered that typical Perth pace and carry but there was enough juice in it for the bowlers to bend their back.
Lungi Ngidi accounted for most of the Indian top order, dismissing Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya. The bowling philosophy of SA pacers was very evident when they challenged the Indian batters with short-pitched deliveries and the latter welcomed it wholeheartedly.
Rahul drove Ngidi away from body and Markram pounced on an easy catch at second slip. But the other three perished in their effort to take on the SA pacers. Kohli, Rohit and Hardik could not impart control to their pull shots and offered some easy catches.
It seemed that Indian batters wanted to use the pace of the South African bowlers to score off, even though the intent was right, they stuttered in the execution part.
Super Surya
However, Suryakumar got both his intent and execution right as he soldiered on from one end on his own. There was no willing partner for the Mumbaikar but that did not deter him.
His immense class and penchant for eye-catching shots were written over a drive off Ngidi that left the mid-on fielder a mere spectator. Epitome of power and grace in equal measure, if you may.
But he could not last till the end of the innings as he fell with 7 balls left, a skier off Wayne Parnell ended in the hands of Keshav Maharaj.
When their turn came, the Indian bowlers used a slightly different strategy than their SA counterparts. They pitched the ball up, except Hardik Pandya, who used the short of length heavy balls, and reaped good dividends.
Amazing Arshdeep
Arshdeep Singh has started to shoulder the burden of Indian bowling attack in absence of Jasprit Bumrah. The left-arm pacer rattled South Africa in his first over itself, dismissing Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw in the space of three deliveries.
But Miller and Markram constructed a 76-run alliance for the 4th wicket that snuffed out India’s charge. There was a chance for India to make a comeback but Kohli dropped Markram on 36 and SA were 64 for 3 then.
Such a chance worth its weight in gold in a match of such fine margins, but the night belonged to South Africa.
Brief scores:
India: 133/9 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 68; Lungi Ngidi 4/29, Wayne Parnell 3/15) lost to South Africa: 134/5 in 19.4 overs (Aiden Markram 52, David Miller 56 not out; Arshdeep Singh 2/25)
