Suryakumar Yadav has the opportunity to break a significant record set by Virat Kohli in the third T20I of the five-match series against Australia on Tuesday. If he gets a chance to bat against Australia in Guwahati, the number 1 T20I batsman could become the fastest Indian to score 2000 runs in the format. Suryakumar is just 60 runs away from achieving this milestone. In his 52 T20I innings, he has scored 1940 runs. In comparison, Kohli reached the 2000-run mark in his 56th innings.
It is important to note that if Suryakumar accomplishes the feat in the third match against Australia, he will narrowly miss out on the world record set by Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who both achieved the milestone in their 52nd innings.
Currently, India leads the five-match series against Australia by 2-0, and they will aim to secure an unassailable lead in the T20I.
After showcasing exceptional batting performances in the previous games, the revamped Indian team will strive to maintain their dominance on the Barsapara Stadium pitch, known to be favorable for batting. The 40,000 spectators expected to fill the stands are anticipating a high-scoring match from the talented Indian batting unit, which has collectively hit 36 boundaries and 24 sixes in the previous two games.
Meanwhile, some of Australia’s senior players like Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Adam Zampa have been in India for nine weeks, and fatigue is beginning to show. They require significant rest before their upcoming commitments. Each of them will participate in the Big Bash League next month, with Smith’s next international assignment being the Test series against Pakistan.
The squads for the match are as follows:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
Australia: Matthew Wade (captain), Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa.
(With PTI Inputs)
