Abu Dhabi [UAE], September 20 : India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav won hearts with his witty reply while cheekily addressing his surprise entry at number 11 against Oman in the final group stage fixture of the ongoing Asia Cup.
Fans and experts were gobsmacked after Suryakumar opted to pull himself back, act as the last resort and allow the rest of the batting unit to have a crack at it. Speculations swirled around social media about a potential injury scare. However, they were soon put to bed when the Indian skipper stepped at the crease in the second innings.
The most plausible explanation behind Suryakumar's move was identified as India trying to allow its players to spend some valuable time on the crease, a luxury that they hardly had in the tournament. While joking about turning out much earlier in the next fixture, the 35-year-old was in awe of Oman's pursuit of the 189-run target, under the watchful eye of deputy head coach Sulakshan Kulkarni, someone with whom Suryakumar has been acquainted in the past.
"Definitely, I'll try from the next game (joking about batting higher than No.11). Overall, impressive, I feel, Oman played an unbelievable brand of cricket. I knew, with their coach, Sulu sir (Sulakshan Kulkarni), there would be something from them. It was amazing, really enjoyed watching them bat," Suryakumar said in the post-match presentation.
Even though Suryakumar forgot about the changes that India had made in the XI during the toss, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana returned to the final XI in place of Varun Chakravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah. The duo fared well considering the lack of game time they had under their belt and returned with a wicket each.
Arshdeep became the first Indian to take 100 T20I wickets, even though he proved to be a costly option, while Harshit showed glimpses of brilliance but appeared rustic. "It's a little difficult when you're sitting and suddenly you come out and play," the Indian captain said while defending Arshdeep and Harshit.
Hardik Pandya, who bowled in tandem with Arshdeep and Harshit, was dismissed in a bizarre manner in the first innings. Sanju Samson ferociously hit the ball back to bowler Jitenkumar Ramanandi. While trying to catch the ball, he got his left hand between the ball's trajectory and deflected it back to the non-striker's end stumps. Pandya was well ahead of the popping crease when the ball ignited the stumps, forcing him to return on 1(1).
Despite his ill luck with the bat, he dazzled with the ball in his hand and removed set-batter Hammad Mirza on 51 before he could wreak more havoc. "It's so humid here. Unfortunate how he got out, but you can't keep him away from the game (talking about Hardik Pandya), the way he bowled and the way he got out," Suryakumar said.
India will now return to Dubai for their Super Four clash against arch-rival Pakistan. Their previous encounter was filled with drama, and when Suryakumar was quizzed about the fixture, he snubbed Pakistan's name and concluded by saying, "All set for Super Fours."