Suryakumar Yadav wreaked havoc on the rookie bowling attack as Team India thrashed Netherlands by 56 runs to notch up their second consecutive win in the ongoing T20 World Cup on Thursday (October 27).
A target of 180, riding on half-centuries from skipper Rohit Sharma (53 off 39 balls), Virat Kohli (62 not out off 44 balls) and Suryakumar (51 not out off 25 balls), was good enough for the Dutchmen who were never in the contest once India's powerplay overs ended.
The 'Orange Brigade' huffed and puffed its way to 123 for nine in 20 overs as the relative slowness of the track post the Bangladesh-South Africa game effected its approach.
The Netherlands was the fourth team to bat on the track, and although there wasn't any considerable wear and tear, it slowed down enough for Axar Patel (2/18) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/21) to tighten the noose on the opposition batters.
Virat-Suryakumar's instagram bromance
Post the match, Kohli took to social media and shared some photos from the game, along with a motivating caption.
"Another strong result," Kohli posted on Instagram.
Suryakumar replied to tweet with a single word: "SurVIR". It referred to the initial part of both their names. Kohli was impressed and replied: "Hahahaha Maanla Bhau (good one brother)"
Apart from Kohli, captain Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav also hit fifties.
Rohit brought up his 29th T20 half-century in his 144th game, cracking four sixes along the way. However, he said that he was not exactly satisfied with his knock. "I thought it was a clinical win. When you're expected to win, the pressure is a lot more. This was a near-perfect game for us," said Rohit.
"Yes, we played a little slow at the start, but that was the conversation between me and Virat, we had to wait on that surface to play the big shots. Not too happy with my fifty, but what's important is getting runs -- doesn't matter if they are good-looking runs or ugly runs."
Kohli conjured two vital partnerships -- 73 for the second wicket with Rohit and 95 for the unbroken third wicket with Surya -- as KL Rahul's (9 off 12 balls) second successive failure stuck out like a sore thumb.
But Rahul can consider himself a touch unlucky as right-arm seamer Paul van Meekeren's delivery angled into his pads and seemed like missing the leg-stump, but he was advised against taking the review by the skipper.
To be fair, the Netherlands bowlers did a reasonable job during the powerplay, when India scraped to 32 for one.
The Netherlands was the fourth team to bat on the track, and although there wasn't any considerable wear and tear, it slowed down enough for Axar Patel (2/18) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/21) to tighten the noose on the opposition batters.
On expected lines, Mohammed Shami (2/9), Arshdeep Singh (2/37) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/27) had an easy day at the office.
Team India will look to carry their winning momentum when they lock horns with South Africa on October 30.
