February 25, 2026

Third T20: Another Batting Masterclass By Suryakumar Yadav

By Slogger
First publised on 2023-01-08 11:35:04

About the Author

Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.

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India upped its game on the back of a blistering century by the one and only Suryakumar Yadav and scored 228 for 5, taking the game away from the Sri Lankans. The bowlers, too, rose to the occasion and crushed the Lankans, already weighed down by a huge score and a steadily climbing asking rate, with some precision bowling. India won the game by 91 runs and pocketed the series 2-1. Yadav was Player of the Match for his outstanding innings and Axar Patel was Player of the Series for his excellent all-round performance in all three matches.

India began disastrously, losing Ishan Kishan early. But then Shubman Gill (46) and Rahul Tripathi (a quickfire 35) took the score to 52 and Tripathi's dismissal brought Suryakumar Yadav to the crease. The game took a high voltage turn after that as Yadav unleashed an array of patent strokes to demolish the Lankan attack. Gill departed when the team's score was 163 and the bulk of the scoring in the third wicket partnership was done by Yadav. India suffered a mini collapse after that as Pandya and Hooda got out cheaply and it was 189 for 5 in no time. But Yadav got an able partner in Player of the Series Axar Patel (20 not out) and remained not out at 112 to take India to 228. It was his third T20 hundred, the first in India, and was laced with 9 sixes and 7 fours. Yadav showed that he is miles ahead of all other players in this format.

When Lanka batted, the Indian bowlers kept things tight and did not repeat the mistakes they made in the second T20. None of the Lankan batters were allowed to settle in and consequently there were no meaningful partnerships. The Lankan batters got starts but most of them perished in their twenties, showing how the Indian bowlers kept up relentless pressure. The asking rate was never within their reach and in the end they could manage only 137. Heavily criticized for his no-balls in the last match, Arshdeep Singh got his rhythm back and got 3 wickets for 20 runs. All India bowlers, except Shivam Mavi who bowled just one over, got wickets and the Lankans were crushed by 91 runs.