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Indian cricket star Suryakumar Yadav emerged as one of the four contenders for the ICC Men's T20 Cricketer of the Year 2023 on December 3. Having secured the title in 2022, the 33-year-old showcased his dominance in the shortest format throughout 2023, amassing a total of 733 runs from 17 innings at an impressive average of 48.86 and a striking rate of 155.95.
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The other three contenders for the award include Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe (11 innings, 515 runs at 51.50, strike rate 150.14; 17 wickets at 14.88, economy 6.57), Alpesh Ramjani of Uganda (55 wickets at 8.98, economy 4.77), and Mark Chapman of New Zealand (17 innings, 556 runs at 50.54, strike rate 145.54).
Despite a modest start with an innings of just seven against Sri Lanka in 2023, Suryakumar quickly rebounded, delivering exceptional performances with scores of 51 runs in 36 balls and an unbeaten 112 runs in 51 balls in the next two matches.
The 33-year-old played an amazing inning, including inside-out drives, during his innings of 112 runs off 51 balls. He hit nine sixes and seven fours, which means he scored boundaries almost every three deliveries.
His first boundary came after just four balls, and he reached a century in just 45 balls. This was the second-fastest hundred for India in men's T20Is, after Rohit Sharma's 35-ball century against the same opponent in 2017. India won the match by 91 runs.
Suryakumar continued to score consistently in the 20s to 40s. In another match against the West Indies in Providence, he showcased his class with an innings of 83 runs off 44 balls. He concluded the series against the West Indies with a knock of 61 runs off 45 balls in Florida.
The batter showcased his batting prowess despite the responsibility of captaincy, leading a young Indian side in the latter part of the year.
He scored half-centuries against Australia (80 runs off 42 balls) and South Africa (56 runs from 36 balls). He followed that up with an impressive century, scoring 100 runs against South Africa in their final T20I of the year in Johannesburg, achieved in just 56 balls.
(Powered by AI, Inputs by India Today)
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