Picture Credit: Twitter
Middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav played a calm and yet assertive inning to ensure a competitive total on board in the 1st innings of 3rd T20I against West Indies in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Yadav's blistering fifty rescued the side from early batting collapse and, along with all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer guided India to 187-5 in 20 overs of the game.
While Surya posted a formidable challenge to West Indies bowlers by playing some classy and gritty knocks in the series, he shared some light-hearted moments with West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard. The duo shares the same dressing room in the Indian Premier League while playing for the Mumbai Indians. Both the players have been retained by the Mumbai franchise, Suryakumar Yadav, for Rs. 8 crores while Caribbean all-rounder Pollard for Rs. 6 crores. Speaking on Suryakumar Yadav, the middle-order batter on Monday took to Twitter and shared a collage picture of himself with Pollard captioning "&??? ??????????? ?????????."
The post had two pictures, one of Suryakumar while batting in 2nd T20I kept his head on Pollard's shoulder while Caribbean skipper was chatting with the onfield umpire. In the second pic, Pollard was seen giving a hug to Suryakumar Yadav after the Indian batter was rewarded with Player of the Match due to his blistering match-saving fifty in the 1st innings of 3rd T20I.
Both the players seem to have good compatibility as they keep on indulging with each other in some or another way. MI teammates got involved in light-hearted sledging in the 1st ODI between India and West Indies. After the game, Suryakumar Yadav revealed a bit of a chat between him and WI captain Pollard. When Suryakumar was batting in the middle, Pollard asked him why he wasn't playing the flick shot in the air as he does in the IPL. "Pollard told me a few things. Midwicket was open; why are you not flicking as you do in IPL', but it was different here... I wanted to stay there till the end," Suryakumar shared his brief chat with Pollard in a chat with the official broadcasters.
The India batter played yet another quality knock and remained unbeaten on 34 off 36 balls as India chased down the 177-run target in 28-overs with six wickets in hand to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Both the players will be seen participating in the Indian Premier League after the Mumbai franchise retained both the players.