India and New Zealand will clash against each other in the third and final match of the three-match T20I series on Wednesday, February 1 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After a breezy ODI whitewash, the T20I rubber hasn't been as easy for the hosts. While the death bowling cost them in Ranchi, their batting was under the scanner two days later; India got past a target of 100 with only a ball to spare.
Ahead of the decider game, Suryakumar Yadav addressed the media in the pre-match press conference. When a reporter asked him how he managed to keep himself calm and composed during immense pressure situations in the matches, and also managed to finish things off for India in style with so much consistency, the right-hander had a witty response with former Indian captain MS Dhoni reference.
Watch the video here:
— Guess Karo (@KuchNahiUkhada) February 1, 2023
“T20 Ranchi me chalu hua tha toh calm attitude udhar se hi aaya (T20 series started in Ranchi so the calm attitude originated from there). But I guess a lot of domestic cricket which I played before making my international debut, that has helped me a lot. Because the grind that we have there, we play on challenging tracks and you have to apply yourselves, so whatever I have learned there I have carried it here. Rest whatever I have learned is by watching the senior players and talking to them about how they tackle various difficult situations," he said.
Suryakumar Yadav is also selected for the test team against Australia
Suryakumar is currently the no.1 ranked T20I batter in the world and he was also awarded as the T20I batter of the year 2022 for his brilliant performance in the shortest format last year. He was the main batter yet again for the Men in Blue during their 100-run chase against the Black Caps in the second T20I. Though the target wasn't too much, the pitch turned out to be a nightmare for batters on both sides. Yet, Suryakumar was the highest scorer, finishing with 26* off 31 deliveries, also managing to hit some boundaries.
After the conclusion of the T20I series against the Kiwis, the Indian team will play against the Australian team for the four-match Test series, starting from February 9. The result of the series will decide India’s fate at the Test Championship final. The Kangaroos are the no.1 team in the Test rankings while the Indian Team is at the no.2 spot.