Suryakumar Yadav’s shot selection is one thing that has lit up the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Every time he walks out to bat, he showcases a new way of clearing the fence, no matter where the bowler pitches the ball. Once he is set in the middle, he can pick the ball from wherever he wants to and steal a boundary. His acrobatic batting was on display at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where India took on Zimbabwe in their last Super 12 tie.
India got 79 runs on the board in the last 4 overs of their innings. The credit goes to Surya who launched an assault on the Zimbabwe bowlers. Some of his shots were so amazing that even Blessing Muzarbani couldn’t decide where to bowl. If the bowler went wide off the off stump, Surya would flick it over third man for a maximum. If bowled a yorker, it would again sail behind the wickets for a boundary.
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Suryakumar’s wizardry is beyond everyone’s understanding and also involves a lot of risk factors. His coach and former domestic cricketer Vinayak Mane explained that it requires immense courage to hit the ball in that manner.
Speaking exclusively with renowned journalist G Krishnan for News18 Cricketnext, Mane said, “There are a lot of risks. The major one is that you can get hit in the face or in the throat. So, I think he’s very courageous to play those kinds of shots consistently and in the training as well. He’s basically challenging his body where he might get hit. He must be watching the ball very closely so as not to miss it and connect it so often.”
Mane further highlighted that Suryakumar is very clever to understand the mindset of the bowler he is facing and can be dismissed only on a very bad day.
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“He knows that when he’s moving under the ball towards the off side, the smarter bowler will watch and go wider to him. But has got it covered as well and taps it over third man. So, that’s how he’s working now. He understands what the bowler can do, and he’s covered that as well. On a very bad day he’ll get out, or someone bowls a very good slower one. Otherwise, he’s got everything covered,” Mane added.
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