T20 World Cup 2022: Shoaib Malik hails Suryakumar Yadav's innings

Suryakumar Yadav (Source: AP)

India were beaten by South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2022 yesterday and Suryakumar Yadav's knock was the only positive for the Men in Blue on Sunday.

The top order of the Indian team was flattened by the likes of Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje who breathed fire with the ball. The pitch seemed to be assisting the fast bowlers in the game and the Proteas took full advantage of it. 

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were dismissed in quick succession and it seemed like India would struggle to post a three-digit score at one point. However, Suryakumar Yadav stepped up with a priceless 68-run knock to guide India to a respectable total of 133. 

Chasing a modest total, South Africa had early hiccups as well but they did well to steady the innings later on and picked up a well-deserved win. Dropped catches from the Indian fielders made life easier for the South African batters as well. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan ace Shoaib Malik has now reacted to Suryakumar Yadav's invaluable contribution and revealed that the Indian batter plays with the mind of the bowler and is a tricky customer when it comes to the shortest format of the game. 

Malik said (as quoted by NDTV):

"The shot he plays, where he hits behind...his technique is so good that even if he doesn't get that elevation, he still manages to execute the shot).

"SKY is something different, isn't he? These are the kind of shots youngsters should learn). Absolutely they can learn if they are willing to. They have to have a goal to achieve something. They also have to put in the hard work to do so.

"He plays with the bowler's mind as well, contemplating if he scores on short balls, maybe the bowler will bowl fuller. It is very important for middle-order batters to play with the mind of the bowlers."

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