After narrowly edging out Jasprit Bumrah for the Player of the Match (POTM) award in India’s victory over Afghanistan in the first match of their T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 stage campaign, Suryakumar Yadav heaped praise on opposition skipper Rashid Khan. Suryakumar hailed Rashid as the ‘best bowler in the world’ after a strong performance against Rashid’s side. Despite India’s top order struggling, Suryakumar’s quick-fire 53 off 28 balls ensured India posted a competitive total of 181.
In response, Afghanistan lost three wickets in the powerplay and couldn’t keep up with the required run rate as Rohit Sharma’s team won by 47 runs. Bumrah delivered a brilliant spell of 3-7 in four overs, including 20 dot balls.
Reflecting on his innings, Suryakumar emphasized the importance of taking on Rashid, acknowledging the difficulty in facing him. “When he bowls it’s very difficult to pick him, so I know what shots I want to play when I am inside,” Suryakumar said in a post-match interview after receiving the POTM award. “The best bowler in the world, you can’t let him dominate, you have to be a step ahead. But yeah I’m happy to be on a better side today.”
Suryakumar has now scored consecutive half-centuries for India, having also reached the milestone in the group stage win over the USA.
The top-ranked T20I batter in the world will next take the field tonight (June 22) as India face Bangladesh in their second Super 8 match at Antigua. A win against the hosts would put India on the verge of securing qualification. India’s third and final game of the second round will be against Australia on Monday (June 24) in St. Lucia.