If Suryakumar Yadav’s masterclass on a sticky wicket was a lesson for the batters in Dubai on Wednesday evening, the one stroke which stood out for its application and innovativeness came in the closing stages of the innings.
Hong Kong’s Ayush Shukla had bowled it fullish wide outside off when a pre-determined Surya had set himself up for the sweep. But within a split second, Surya had adjusted himself, standing up on his knees from the bent position and making room for the inside-out shot. Without battling an eyelid, he slapped it over cover for a boundary leaving the fielders awe-struck.
While the more accomplished top-3 of Indian batting struggled to come to terms with the wicket, Surya seemed to be playing on a different surface. There is no drama or swagger in his batting that sets him apart. He goes about his task in a matter-of-fact way putting the team’s interests ahead of personal gains.
So much so that even Virat Kohli, who enjoyed an unbroken 98-run partnership with him, marvelled at his brilliance. As the camera focused on Kohli after the innings, he was seen pointing towards the dressing room and uttering “kya hai yeh” (what is this man). Wasim Akram had pointed out in the lead-up to the Asia Cup that he was waiting to have a glimpse of Surya, with whom he had worked at Kolkata Knight Riders.
“He is a complete 360-degree player,” Akram said. His 68 not out off 26 balls on Wednesday proved beyond doubt that Surya is the country’s best T20 batsman on current form. Surya hammered 12 boundaries where KL Rahul and Kohli managed just six between them across 83 balls. When he joined the Knight Riders in 2014, then captain Gautam Gambhir gave him the nickname SKY after his initials. But Surya’s real transformation took place once he moved to Mumbai Indians in 2018.
Chandrakant Pandit who worked with Surya closely during his coaching stint with Mumbai says he can be an all-format player. “Surya has always been outstanding and can fit into any format. It is his range of strokes that creates the maximum impact. He can singlehandedly change the course of any match and has always been an impact-creating batter,” Pandit told The Telegraph on Thursday.
Pandit, the newly appointed KKR head coach, doesn’t agree that Surya developed his innovative style playing gully cricket in the bylanes of Chembur in Mumbai. Surya, however, had gone on to say on Wednesday that “playing rubber ball cricket with my friends when I was a kid” helped him develop such extraordinary strokes. “He modified his batting while playing local cricket in Mumbai. He always had the belief that he is a match-winning player. That sets him apart and helped him excel,” Pandit remarked.
“He always had this natural talent of hitting the ball to all corners of the ground. He was always keen to improve on that during nets. He used to try different new shots... This keenness to experiment has made him a multidimensional batter. The credit goes to his versatility and fearless approach,” Pandit reasoned. Surya has already stated that he is ready to bat at any position.
“This format is all about what you think and how you prepare before you go out to bat,” the 31-year-old said. No wonder rival teams will have to work overtime on the drawing board if they have to tame SKY during the World Cup next month.