Suryakumar Yadav has been earning a lot of praise for the way he led India in their victorious T20I series against Australia and fast bowler Arshdeep Singh has talked up the impact that a calm and collected Suryakumar had on the young team. India successfully defended 160 runs in the 5th and final T20I in Bengaluru on Sunday, December 3 to win the series 4-1.
It was Suryakumar Yadav’s first assignment as India’s captain and he aced the challenge against a power-packed Australian side. Marshalling a young side in the absence of the regular stars, Suryakumar not only shone with the bat, but also was proactive as a captain on the field, using his young bowling attack well.
On Sunday, on an uncharacteristically sluggish Bengaluru pitch, Suryakumar helped India stay composed. At one point in the chase, Australia were 116 for 4 and were cruising toward the finish line as Ben McDermott was going strong with a fifty. India, however, pulled things back with a big wicket in the 15th over.
The spinners, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel, stepped up once again, giving away just 43 runs in 8 overs and picking up 3 wickets between them. Mukesh Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets while Arshdeep Singh staged a fine comeback as he successfully defended 9 runs in the final over.
“About Surya’s captaincy. Last time I saw Ravi’s press conference, he used a phrase to describe it and said ‘we have been given a lot of freedom’. I want to use the same. He has given both the bowlers and the batters a lot of freedom to express their strengths,” Arshdeep Singh told the press after India’s 6-run win on Sunday.
“Yes, we played mostly on batting-friendly pitches. So he told the bowlers ‘where there are challenges, there are opportunities too’. He told us to not to focus on the results, but focus on the process, try and make the batters make mistakes.
“From the start, he gave us a lot of freedom, and didn’t let us feel pressure. He was not forcing his ideas on us. The bowlers, he told us that we will get 100 percent support to execute our plans. He was giving inputs to only help us get better,” he added.
Arshdeep Singh was under considerable pressure as he had conceded 37 runs in his first 3 overs before Suryakumar handed him the final over when Matthew Wade was looking to finish things for Australia.
Arshdeep was dropped for the 4th T20I after a string of poor showing in the first 3 T20Is. However, he returned to the side after Deepak Chahar flew back home due to a medical emergency on Sunday.
Arshdeep, however, delivered when it mattered, dismissing Matthew Wade and just giving away 3 runs in the final over.
“I was not thinking too much. I had nothing to lose. The chat was the same with Surya bhai, ‘let’s see what happens’. I was thinking yes, I can win this for the team because I had nothing to lose. I gave away a lot of runs. At that time, I wanted to back my strengths.
“I went with gut feel, I wanted to start with a bouncer. Then when I got wade’s wicket, I was assured that I had done the job,” he added.
Arshdeep Singh will get another chance to play under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy as the Mumbai Indians star will lead India in the T20I series against South Africa, starting December 10.
