NEW DELHI:
Suryakumar Yadav’s status as India’s best T20I batter in recent times has been reconfirmed as he became the top scorer in a single calendar year with 732 runs, surpassing Shikhar Dhawan’s 689 in 2018.
Suryakumar, who scored one of his finest T20I halves of half a century against South Africa on Wednesday at a seaming circuit in Thiruvananthapuram, is just 24 runs short of completing 1000 runs in the format.
His strike rate in 2022 is a whopping 180.29, while his career strike rate is a whopping 173.35 in 32 games. He has already reached 57 sixes and 88 limits in his career so far.
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In Pics: Pitch surprise as India South Africa in 1st T20I
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Arshdeep Singh rattled the opposition who hit a close field to take India’s eight-wicket win over South Africa in their opening T20I on Wednesday.
South Africa recovered from 9-5 in 2.3 overs to go 106-8 after India chose to field first.
Arshdeep gave figures of 3-32 and Deepak Chahar took two wickets on an unusually bowler-friendly lane.
India lost skipper Rohit Sharma to a duck and Virat Kohli (3) before the hosts reached their goal with 20 balls left to take a 1-0 lead.
KL Rahul (51) and Suryakumar Yadav (50) set up a 93-run undefeated partnership to complete the chase.
New-ball bowlers Chahar and Arshdeep made it count after India lost pace to spearhead Jasprit Bumrah before the start of the match due to “back pain”.
No. 8 Keshav Maharaj hit 41 of 35 balls to help South Africa make the full 20 overs and add some respect to their meager total.
Chahar threw skipper Temba Bavuma for a fourth ball duck and co-opener Quinton de Kock dragged a pitch to his stumps from Arshdeep.
The Proteas ran into further trouble when Arshdeep left Rilee Rossouw for nothing and David Miller threw in the next ball.
It was South Africa’s worst start ever for a T20 international when Tristan Stubbs fell from Chahar in the third over.
Aiden Markram (25) Wayne Parnell (24) made 33 runs for the sixth wicket to slow India’s momentum.
Markram hit 3 fours and a six before being caught lbw by Harshal Patel as India successfully judged the on-field umpire’s decision.
Parnell fell over in the 16th but Maharaj held out before his knocking ended in the last left when Patel took his second wicket.
In response, India struggled 17-1 in the first six overs, with Kagiso sending Rabada Rohit back and Kohli falling behind Anrich Nortje.
Suryakumar eased the nerves with two sixes, including a lucky one with a lead that sailed over the deep third man to bring the crowd to life.
Suryakumar hit five fours and three sixes in his 33 ball knock and took on the bowlers with Rahul as she gave chase with clinical precision.
Starting at number 4 in the first T20I against South Africa, with India narrowed to 17/2 in the seventh over, Suryakumar hit two sixes of his first three balls to give the innings a change in momentum after a slow start.
He went unbeaten on 50 from 33 balls as India reached the goal with more than three overs to spare and eight wickets in hand.
With the two sixes early in the innings, Suryakumar also went past Pakistani Mohammad Rizwan to score the most sixes in any calendar year in T20Is. Rizwan held the record for his 42 sixes in 2021, while Martin Guptill also broke 41 sixes the same year.
Suryakumar has already brought his number of sixes to 45 in 2022, a record in all T20Is, with three months left to widen the gap with Rizwan.
While it took Rizwan 26 innings to hit 42 sixes, Suryakumar broke the record by hitting five fewer.
Suryakumar is second in the latest MRF Tires ICC T20I men’s player ranking with 801 rating points after his half-century in the third and final T20I against Australia in Hyderabad.
