Picture Credit : BCCI
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav looked in glorious touch as he smashed 63 runs of just 30 balls in this match. His innings included 4 fours and 6 sixes in the innings. This is his third half-century of this series and after a big drought for more than a year, finally the Indian captain is back to form. India won the series 4-1 against New Zealand and this will be a good preparation for them going into the T20 World Cup. In this match he broke multiple records. Suryakumar Yadav became the fastest in the world to score 3,000 runs in T20Is. He is also only the third Indian batter to reach the mark.
He achieved the landmark in just 1822 balls going past the UAE captain Muhammad Waseem, who took 1947 balls to complete 3,000 runs in T20Is. Others in the list are England’s Jos Buttler follows with 2068 balls. Australia openers Aaron Finch and David Warner are also in the list with Finch taking 2077 balls and David Warner getting there in 2113 balls. Others in the list are Indian legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli come next who took 2149 and 2169 balls to achieve the milestone of 3000 runs.
Suryakumar Yadav has been phenomenal in this format. In 104 T20Is he has scored 3030 runs at an average of 36.95, with four centuries and 24 fifties and a strike rate of 165.48. Suryakumar Yadav also became the third Indian batter to go past this milestone. Only two other Indians have scored more than 3000 runs. Rohit Sharma who has scored 4231 runs in 159 matches at an average of 32.05, with five centuries and 32 fifties and Virat Kohli who has amassed 4188 runs in 125 matches and 117 innings at an average of 48.69, with a century and 38 fifties.
This New Zealand series has been good for Suryakumar Yadav who has now made 242 runs in five matches at an average of 80.66 and a strike rate of 196.74, with three fifties and a best score of 82*. India won the fifth T20I match by 46 runs. Batting first, India put up a massive score of 271 in the first innings on the back of an excellent century from Ishan Kishan and a half century from Suryakumar Yadav. The finishing touches was given by Hardik Pandya who smashed 42 runs of 17 balls. It was an above par total but the pitch was good for batting. New Zealand put up a really good effort in the chase with Finn Allen smashing 80 runs of 38 balls.
At the halfway mark, New Zealand were right in the game but a few wickets meant that the innings fell over. In the end they ended with 225 on the board. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers picking up five wickets while Axar Patel also chipped in with three wickets. Jasprit Bumrah had a day to forget as he went wicket-less and gave away 58 runs. India have clinched the series 4-1 and the next assignment for both teams will be the World Cup.
