Suryakumar Yadav lit up Trent Bridge, Nottingham with effortless hitting in high-scoring run chase in final T20I of the series. In the end Suryakumar’s 117-run knock went in vain as India rued expensive slog overs in 17-run loss. Despite the loss in third T20I, India won the T20I series by 2-1 but Rohit Sharma’s winning streak as captain came to an end.
Top order collapses again
In a high-scoring run chase, India lost their top order early in the powerplay overs. Reece Topley started off the proceedings with the wicket of Rishabh Pant off his first ball. Virat Kohli played a couple of extravagant shots but ultra-aggressiveness cost him. Kohli got out after scoring 11 runs to David Willey in the third over. Rohit struggled to score initially and then got out in the fifth over to Topley. Chasing 216, India were 31/3 after five overs.
Surya’s onslaught
Surya revived the run chase in the middle overs with Shreyas Iyer playing second fiddle. Surya did the heavy lifting whereas Iyer rotated the strike. After 10 overs, India were 82/3. In the 12th over, Surya reached his half-century with a six off Topley off 32 deliveries. In the next over, he targetted Liam Livingstone and hit him for three sixes.
Record-breaking partnership
The onslaught continued as Surya carried the run chase on his back. But at one point, boundaries were needed from both ends. Iyer tried a cheeky shot off Topley's short ball but all he could manage was an edge to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. he got out after scoring 28 runs from 23 deliveries. The 119-run partnership between Surya and Iyer is the highest fourth wicket or lower partnership for India in T20Is.
Maiden T20I century
In the 17th over, Surya reached his maiden T20I century with a boundary off Willey. He took just 48 deliveries to breach the three figures. Later in the over, designated finisher Dinesh Karthik got lbw to Willey for a single-digit score. Ravindra Jadeja walked out to bat and hit a six off the third ball he faced but lost his wicket off the next delivery from Richard Gleeson.
Too much left for the end
With 41 runs needed off last 12 balls, Surya went all out against Moeen Ali. He hit the off-spinner for two fours and three sixes. Ali had the last laugh with the wicket of Surya off the fifth delivery. He scored 117 runs from 55 deliveries including 14 fours and six sixes. In the end, it was too much for tailenders to handle. Harshal Patel and Ravi Bishnoi got out in the final over to Chris Jordan as India managed 198/9 in 20 overs.
