He bent down, touched the Raipur turf and then his forehead seeking a blessing or two, before raising the bat to acknowledge his 22nd T20I fifty – a milestone Suryakumar Yadav reached after 463 days for India.
The monkey was finally off his back and the typical Surya, with his supla shots, had returned to the picture.
And what better timing to shake the dust off his feet. The difference between ‘out of runs’ and ‘out of form’ vanished into thin air with this masterpiece at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium on Friday night. The captain led from the front, handing India a seven-wicket win in the second T20I as they chased down 209. It’s their joint-highest successful chase in the format’s history.
A similar tale unfolded at the other end.
Just a month ago, when Ishan Kishan led Jharkhand to their first-ever SMAT title triumph, a journalist in Ranchi asked him about his T20 World Cup aspirations. The 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter’s humble response: “Let’s see, the hope is always there.”
Little did he know then that the stars would align majestically, fast-tracking his return to India’s 15-man squad for a home World Cup. It felt like God’s plan for Kishan, executed with precision in Raipur on Friday night when India were fretting over the failure of their openers in a high-scoring chase.
An Indian innings that looked like a sinking ship at one stage suddenly soared, piloted by Kishan and Surya. The old Mumbai Indians mates stitched together a 122-run stand to bail India out of trouble after the openers fell early. While Kishan’s madness kept the Raipur crowd on its toes, the Indian skipper broke the shackles to end his fifty drought.
Batting at number three, Kishan belted a 21-ball fifty, registering the second-highest score by an Indian batter in the Powerplay, 56 off 23, behind Abhishek Sharma. At the other end, the Indian captain brought up a joint third-fastest fifty against New Zealand, off 23 balls.
India soon picked up the pace as the Kiwis were left biting their nails. The ninth over proved decisive, with Suryakumar tormenting Zak Foulkes and plundering 25 runs through four fours and a six. Even after Kishan fell for a 32-ball 76, the captain kept control of the chase. He did have his heart in his mouth when Mark Chapman dropped him on 43 near deep backward square leg in the 11th over, but the reprieve only sharpened his intent to finish the job.
The next 30 minutes belonged entirely to Surya, sending the Raipur crowd into a frenzy. Four sixes, nine fours and an unbeaten 82 off 37 balls ensured India wrapped up the chase with 28 balls to spare and sealed a 2-0 series lead.
“As I’ve said before, I was batting really well in the nets,” a beaming Surya said during the post-match presentation. “Everything I did back home over the last two or three weeks helped. I got a good break to spend time with my family and friends, had good practice sessions, and I’m really enjoying what’s happening right now.”
Despite the top-order collapse, the middle order picked up from where it had left in Nagpur.
Kishan, Surya and even Shivam Dube, who played second fiddle, all struck at a strike-rate of 200 or more. The campaign, therefore, rolls on with the basics intact. Attacking from ball one remained the approach, even though it came at the cost of early dismissals for Abhishek and Sanju Samson.
The absence of Jasprit Bumrah was felt, with Arshdeep Singh taken to the cleaners, but those flaws were neatly masked by Surya’s return to form and Kishan’s blazing knock.
There are still areas of concern that will need addressing before the Guwahati fixture. For now, though, the Men in Blue can leave Chhattisgarh with a sigh of relief. Their leader is back, and how.
