‘Maine khud ko ullu bana diya’ – Suryakumar Yadav’s take on his batting in third T20I against West Indies

In a must-win game against the West Indies to stay alive in the series, India beat the home side by 7 wickets. The two pillars of the Indian win were Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, whose partnership in the middle enabled India to win the game. While Yadav scored a magnificent 83 runs in just 44 deliveries, the young Varma scored 49 runs in 37 balls and saw India home.  

The two batters were involved in an 87-run partnership for the third wicket. Yadav scored 58 runs in the partnership and was the most aggressive of the two. Varma, on the other hand, played second fiddle to his teammate and anchored the chase. As India won the match, the two batters were invited to have a short talk with each other by the Indian board.  

The youngster who played a mature knock was praised by Yadav for his calm and composure in the game. The 32-year-old asked Tilak about his batting approach. “The wicket was pretty slow today, so I thought of taking calculated risks. I received some loose balls and just waited for the ball to come,” said Varma about his approach.  

Sometimes, you have to play bluff with yourself- Suryakumar Yadav

Yadav, who did not have a great time in the Caribbean islands till then, had worn a wristband with the message “Powerplay me thoda time lekar khelna hai (Give yourself time during the Powerplay).” But Suryakumar was on fire from the start and did not take a moment to settle in the middle. Reacting to it, Yadav smiled and said he did not follow his own instructions.  

Yadav continued and said, “Sometimes, you have to play bluff with yourself. Aaj maine khud ko ullu bana diya (I tricked myself today)! I thought I would take time and peak slowly. But then I realized I would play to the team’s requirements, and not do anything different. I did the same team, I enjoyed myself, and loved batting with the star (Tilak Varma),” and explained why he did not follow his own instructions.