Suryakumar Yadav’s Witty Reply on Strategy to Defend 222 Runs against Australia in 3rd T20I

India captain Suryakumar Yadav praised all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for his remarkable century against the Indian team in the third T20I match. Maxwell’s destructive innings spoiled India’s plans in his 100th T20I game, as he scored an unbeaten 104 off just 48 balls. This century also made him the joint fastest Australian player to reach this milestone in the history of T20Is, alongside Aaron Finch and Josh Inglis.

After the match, Suryakumar Yadav lauded Maxwell’s innings, describing it as “insane.” He admitted that the Indian team had wanted to dismiss Maxwell quickly but acknowledged the difficulty of defending a target of 222 runs with heavy dew on the field. Suryakumar compared the conditions to a previous match in Trivandrum, where dew had played a significant role. Despite the team’s efforts to target Maxwell, Suryakumar acknowledged that his innings was exceptional.

Suryakumar also discussed his decision to give Axar Patel the crucial 19th over, despite the challenging conditions for spinners due to the dew. He explained that he chose Axar because of his experience bowling in the death overs and his belief that an experienced bowler, even a spinner, could make a difference in such conditions.

Despite Maxwell’s outstanding century, Suryakumar didn’t overlook Ruturaj Gaikwad’s exceptional performance with the bat. He praised Gaikwad for taking the innings deep after Suryakumar got out and emphasized his belief in Gaikwad’s abilities as a special player.

In the match, India posted a total of 222/3, with Gaikwad scoring his maiden century and remaining unbeaten on 123 off 57 balls. However, Australia responded strongly and quickly lost wickets to allow India to take control of the game. Maxwell then unleashed his power hitting, reminiscent of his performance against Afghanistan in the World Cup, to silence the Indian bowling attack.

Maxwell’s back-to-back sixes in the 19th over signaled the beginning of the chaos that followed in the death overs. Suryakumar Yadav dropped Matthew Wade’s catch during this crucial phase. The final two overs saw Prasidh Krishna and Axar Patel struggle, conceding 45 runs. Despite having 21 runs to defend in the last over, Prasidh couldn’t contain Maxwell’s onslaught, leading to Australia’s five-wicket victory.

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