'He Played A Captain's Knock' - Amit Mishra Hails Suryakumar Yadav

Kashish Chadha

image-lpf88zf9Suryakumar Yadav (Twitter)

Suryakumar Yadav's excellent "captain's knock" in the first T20I of the ongoing series against Australia was praised wholeheartedly by experienced wrist-spinner Amit Mishra, who lauded the Mumbaikar's leadership qualities and pressure-handling abilities. 

Overcoming the bitter disappointment of losing the final of the ICC World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad when his painstaking 18 off 28 got heavily criticised, the extravagant Mumbaikar showed excellent mental toughness and played in his element for the top score of 80 off 42 deliveries in India's successful run-chase versus Australia in Visakhapatnam. 

It was the cricketer's first tryst with captaincy after being awarded stand-in duties in the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma and his deputy Hardik Pandya. Still, he exhibited little to no nerves on the night, especially while blasting the inexperienced Australian attack for his knock featuring nine fours and four sixes. 

Mishra Applauds Suryakumar Yadav For 'Captain's Knock'

Mishra, who watched the skipper closely, reckoned it was innings that justified the man's ascent to India's interim captaincy after a question mark was raised on his promotion to leadership duties despite Suryakumar transcending heights with his T20I exploits ever since his debut back in 2021. 

For Mishra, Suryakumar's ability to absorb the pressure during the run-chase and even in India's fielding effort stood out as he maintained his calmness and composure despite the understrength bowling attack conceding a whopping 208/3 in 20 overs.

"He played a captain's knock in the 1st T20I. He played to his strengths and did not make any change to his approach," Mishra told JioCinema. "The pressure of captaincy was visible when India were bowling, but he was really calm when he came to bat. He should continue maintaining the same approach," the veteran said.

Suryakumar earned the 'Player of the Match' title in his very first match at the helm of affairs, which was overall his 13th such individual prize in the format in an impressive T20I career, where he now enjoys a tally of 1,921 runs after 54 matches at a tremendous strike-rate of 173.37.