T20 WC: Suryakumar showcases orthodoxy and innovativeness at MCG

This has been a tournament of banana skins for the big boys of world cricket. The T20 World Cup started with Namibia stunning Sri Lanka in the very first match of the tournament. Over the next three weeks, two-time champions West Indies were dumped at the first time of asking, Ireland pulled the rug from under England’s feet, Zimbabwe shocked Pakistan by one run whilst defending 130, and the Netherlands put it past Zimbabwe.

In keeping with that trend, South Africa chose to embrace the harder, heartbreak track when a simpler task beckoned. All they needed to do in their final league game to make the semi-finals was get the better of Netherlands, a task they would have pulled off with aplomb 49 times out of 50. This was the one that got away, the team that has made the ‘c’ word infamous finding another route to perdition in Adelaide on Sunday (November 6).

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India’s domination

If there’s one thing India have mastered over the last several years, it is not allowing teams ranked significantly below them to upset their applecart. Occasionally, Bangladesh or Afghanistan have run them close, but India have seldom let the likes of Ireland, Scotland, Namibia, UAE or even Zimbabwe to get even a foot in the door.

It was no surprise, therefore, that India emphatically dashed any designs Zimbabwe might have entertained of pulling off one of the victories of the tournament. In keeping with their status as the No. 1-ranked T20I team in the world, they swatted Zimbabwe aside at a festive Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), their charge fuelled by the man who is now the No. 1 batsman in the format globally.

Suryakumar’s rise

Suryakumar Yadav is attaining something of a cult status in India, and even within the Indian dressing room, one suspects. To watch him at work might not necessarily be a thing of beauty, but it sure is a joy forever. He is what the pundits like to refer to as a ‘free spirit,’ a force of nature that sweeps all before it with gusto and uninhibited expression of one’s inner self.

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There are several factors that have worked to his advantage. At 32, he is no greenhorn; he has been around for eons in domestic and ‘A’ cricket, not to mention the demanding cauldron of the IPL, and that journey has allowed him to figure out what works for him and what doesn’t. He feels he might be a little short on time going forward, so it helps internalise his hunger and ambition and passion. He knows his game inside out. He is aware of what his strengths are, but more crucially, he is acutely cognisant of his limitations. When he isn’t hard at work rectifying those limitations, he understands how to play within them and therefore shuns overreach, which is one the greatest deterrents to a successful run.

Not for the first time in this World Cup, he was the driving force behind India’s compelling charge. Through a combination of tight spin bowling and their own desire to go for big strokes, India appeared in danger of throwing away a promising position of 87 for one when Suryakumar rode to their rescue, a knight in shining armour who cut Zimbabwe’s challenge to smithereens. Playing with the confidence of a man who has 1,000 T20I runs against his name this calendar year alone – a milestone he crossed during his unbeaten 61 – he ran rings around Zimbabwe, their tails that were up when they picked up three for 14 in 11 deliveries rapidly dropping with every brutal blow from his willow.

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Suryakumar is what is referred to as a 360-degree player. He is equally adept at playing in the conventional ‘V’ as the reverse ‘V’ – which is behind the stumps – and he showcased his orthodoxy as well as his innovativeness, the perfect complement to KL Rahul’s correctness and languid elegance that, after a cold start, asserted itself for a second game running.

Contrasting knocks

The two contrasting half-centuries, one poetry in motion and the other a sustained staccato burst of hard rock and thunderous, foot-tapping music, rocked Zimbabwe on their heels. Any hopes of a consolation win in front of 82,507 screaming spectators at the ‘G’, more than 95% of them unabashedly pro-Indian, were thwarted when they conceded 186 for five – even they couldn’t help but admire and appreciate Suryakumar’s unbeaten 61 off 25 – and were immediately rocked at the start of their chase, Bhuvneshwar Kumar packing off Wessley Madhevere off the very first delivery.

It would have been tempting for India’s pacers to merely turn up and go through the motions, especially with the batsmen having erected such an intimidating edifice, but they were having none of it. It’s not often that they find conditions which suit their craft, especially in the 20-over game where the dice is loaded in favour of the batsmen. There was nip off the surface and swing in the air, both pronounced under the sparkling lights, and Bhuvneshwar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya gave Zimbabwe a serious working over.

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At 36 for five, it was game, set and match, with only the formalities to be completed. In the remaining time until Zimbabwe were bowled out for 115, offie R Ashwin helped himself to figures of three for 22, just reward for perseverance and no little skill. By his own admission, Ashwin isn’t a great one for numbers, relying more on feel and how the ball leaves his hand, but in a competition where finger spinners have struggled for wickets, if not relevance, it must have been satisfying to finish with the highest wickets in the game.

Up next for India, in Thursday’s semi-final in Adelaide, are England, the 2010 champions who made a meal of their regulation run-chase against Sri Lanka on Saturday night. England boast a formidable look and, in many ways, India’s aggressive batting blueprint is a leaf snatched from the opposition’s book, but there is a certain fragility to them that Rahul Dravid and his backroom staff will have taken note of. That’s for the future; in the immediate now, India can pat themselves on the back for having cleared the first hurdle and made it to the knockouts.

.@imVkohli approves 👌 👌#TeamIndia | @surya_14kumar | #T20WorldCup | #INDvZIM pic.twitter.com/2aFdGaqct7

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 6, 2022