Explosive batter Suryakumar Yadav, by profession, is known for his charm and wit off the field. Even though he is a powerful batsman who can dominate any bowler, he is friendly and engaging when interacting with others. He is always smiling during interviews and press conferences. One example of his humor came during a T20 World Cup press conference. A journalist mistakenly called Suryakumar, Mohammed Siraj in the presser. This could have been an awkward moment, but Surya handled it perfectly. He responded in a funny way that made everyone laugh.
"Siraj toh nah hai... Siraj bhai khana khaa rahe hain, (Siraj is not here. He is having food)," quipped Suryakumar Yadav.
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In India's T20 World Cup match against Afghanistan, Suryakumar Yadav put his words into action. Before the game, he emphasised the importance of controlling the middle overs in T20 cricket. During the match itself, he did exactly that, dominating bowlers like Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed.
Surya's explosive knock of 53 runs included three sixes and five fours, all scored in just 28 balls to help India beat Afghanistan by 47 runs. This, along with contributions from Hardik Pandya (32 runs), Virat Kohli (24 runs), and Rishabh Pant (20 runs), helped India reach a competitive total of 181/7 on a challenging pitch.
Afghanistan struggled to chase down India's total. Their innings ended with them bowled out for just 134 runs. Jasprit Bumrah continued his excellent form, picking up 3 crucial wickets for only 7 runs. Arshdeep Singh also impressed with 3 wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with 2.
Earlier in India's innings, the score was 79 for 3 wickets at the halfway mark. In the 11th over, Suryakumar Yadav smashed a boundary and a six off the bowling of Rashid Khan, threatening to take the game away from Afghanistan. However, Rashid soon had his revenge, dismissing Shivam Dube for just 10 runs. He finished the innings with respectable figures of 3 wickets for 26 runs. The partnership between Suryakumar and Hardik Pandya looked dangerous, but Farooqi provided Afghanistan with a breakthrough by dismissing Suryakumar in the 17th over. Pandya, who had scored a quickfire 32 runs with three boundaries and two sixes, fell to Naveen-ul-Haq on the last ball of the 18th over to help India post a challenging total.
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