Suryakumar Yadav relishes the clarity of thoughts Virat Kohli brings to the table
Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli have shared some impressive partnerships in recent times in T20Is for India.
For Suryakumar Yadav, batting with Virat Kohli has been an experience to relish in T20Is for India because of the role-clarity and approach the former skipper brings to the table. Suryakumar was chuffed to have stitched another critical stand with Kohli on Thursday (October 27) at the T20 World Cup 2022 against Netherlands.
The duo shared a 95-run partnership for the third wicket after India found themselves walking a tightrope at 84/2 in the 12th over. Once again, while Kohli played the anchor's role through his unbeaten 62 off 44 deliveries, it was Suryakumar who donned the aggressor's job for his 51 not out off 25 balls.
The Netherlands stand was another feather in the cap for the two middle-order giants, who have repeatedly come up with impressive partnerships in the shortest format of the game from the beginning of the Asia Cup 2022 in UAE.
Speaking at the post-match presentation after being awarded the 'Player of the Match' award, Suryakumar said batting with Virat Kohli is an enjoyable experience because of the clarity of his thoughts in the middle and the experience that he can share with him at the other end.
Suryakumar Yadav on batting with Virat Kohli
"Very happy with the way things went. Really enjoying batting with him (Kohli), the thoughts are very clear when we both are batting. If I get few boundaries earlier then our partnership needs to be stretched and that’s what we are doing," Suryakumar said.
During a recent interview with host broadcaster Star Sports, Virat Kohli said he personally likes batting with Suryakumar because they tend to feed off each other's presence on the pitch.
For Kohli, the attacking right-hander at No.4 allows him to continue on his usually sedate ways, while Suryakumar loves knowing his experienced partner is at the other end so that he can freely play his natural game.
"We respect each others game while batting together. We enjoy batting with each other, try and run hard as much as possible," said Suryakumar in a media interaction after the Netherlands win.
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It helps that the player himself is immensely clear on how to go about things in any given situation. When he walked in to bat at the SCG, Suryakumar Yadav says, he knew India need 8-10 runs an over to be able to secure the desired total.
"I was just trying to express myself when I went in to bat. The situation was very simple, I just had to up the tempo at that time," he said. "We had to get about 8-10 an over and get a total which our bowlers could defend easily."