Mumbai (Maharshtra) [India], February 8 : USA bowler Shadley Van Schalkwyk praised Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav for his match-winning, unbeaten innings of 84 after the Americans lost by 29 runs in their opening T20 World Cup encounter at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
"I think any side if they had India at 170 - if you say that at the beginning of the game we would have definitely fancied our chance because we're a good side, but I think you have to give it to SKY (Suryakumar Yadav), he played unbelievably and you have to give credit where it's due, I think that was the batting difference definitely. I think everyone stuck to what they can," Van Schalkwyk said during the post-match press conference, as quoted by ICC.
He praised Sanajy and Milind Kumar's batting performance after the visitors lost early wickets in the powerplay.
"I think the plans came off quite well, losing a few wickets in the powerplay always puts you on the back foot, but I think Sanjay and Milind actually batted well through the middle to get us sort of going again," the USA speedster added.
Van Schalkwyk also commended India's bowlers for quickly adapting to the conditions, while expressing pride in his own team's performance.
"And from there, I think they also bowled well, their spinners bowled well, they knew the pace of the wicket immediately from what we did, and that's credit to them. So a lot of credit goes to them, and also proud of our boys for what we've done. I think a lot of people were watching and really proud of them," he said.
After being asked to bat first, the Men in Blue made 161/9 in 20 overs. Captain Suryakumar Yadav played a fantastic unbeaten knock of 84 off 49 deliveries, with 10 fours and four towering sixes.
Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan (20 off 16 balls, with one four and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (25 off 16 balls, with three fours and one six) also chipped in with the bat.
For the USA, Shadley van Schalkwyk (4/29) and Harmeet Singh (2/26) were among the wicket-takers.
In response, the USA were restricted to 132/8 as they lost the match by 29 runs. Milind Kumar (34 off 34 balls, with four boundaries), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37 off 31 balls, with two sixes and one four) and Shubham Ranjane (37 off 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes) played fighting knocks for their side.
For India, Mohammed Siraj (3/29), Axar Patel (2/24), and Arshdeep Singh (2/18) picked wickets.