Ravichandran Ashwin came out in the defence of Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav after the Men in Blue took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series against Australia, winning the fourth T20I at the Carrara Oval in Queensland by 48 runs.
Suryakumar, who has been struggling for runs of late, played a quickfire knock of 20 off 10 balls, hitting two sixes off Adam Zampa in the first innings. While the volume of runs wasn't too huge, Ashwin believes that the rate at which it came injected some much-needed momentum
into the tourists' innings. In partnership with Shubman Gill, Suryakumar added 33 runs off 16 deliveries.
Ashwin said that such knocks are handy in the shortest format of the game, especially on pitches which are not very friendly for the batters.
“Ten balls for 20 from Suryakumar Yadav was extremely valuable. I always think in T20 cricket, 10 balls for 20 at a 200 strike rate is more valuable. Even today, Abhishek and Shubman had a decent partnership at the top, so Surya came in and gave that amazing impetus and momentum. I would always think 10 balls for 20 is far more valuable than a strike rate of less than 125, 120, or 130 in a T20 game, unless, of course, you are chasing a total,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“If you are chasing and players are going all out, one side has to play in double gear. But today, everyone knew that 160 was a good score. The way Shubman paced the innings was the way he had to play, and he did that. So credit where it’s due, but I am happy with Surya’s 10-ball-20. What he could do, he did,” Ashwin added.
India finished on 167/8 in their 20 overs after being invited to bat first by Mitchell Marsh. In the second innings, the Indian spinners wreaked havoc, dismissing Australia for 119 in 18.2 overs.
