Suryakumar Yadav's 51-ball 112 in the third and final T20I match against Sri Lanka on Saturday made him just the second Indian batsman to record more than two century in that format.
Finding terms to describe Suryakumar Yadav's shots during the third Twenty20 International between India and Sri Lanka in Rajkot are as challenging as scoring a T20I century. Yadav, who has a natural talent for playing these mind-blowing innings in the shortest format, not only puts the bowlers to the test but also anyone who must explain his abnormally bizarre smashes.
Yadav, 32, seems to be in such good shape that he is unconcerned with the weather, his opponents, or his batting position. After winning the toss and deciding to bat in the series-deciding game, India skipper Hardik Pandya (4) came in to bat at No. 4, and Yadav executed his primary goal of hitting super-attacking eye-catching strokes to a tee to propel India to 228/5 in 20 overs.
Yadav also propelled himself to a third T20I century throughout the process, which was made possible by his single in the penultimate over off a full-toss by Kasun Rajitha to sweeper cover.
Yadav makes batting appear to be relatively simple by routinely producing impactful hits, while his teammates struggle to match him in terms of consistently producing game-changing hits in this style. Yadav played a crucial role in playing boundary shots repeatedly since Shubman Gill (46), who was struggling to gain any form of momentum, was unable to do so.
Yadav hit the three-figure mark on the 45th ball that he faced. He ultimately scored 112* (51) with a strike rate of 219.60, consisting of seven fours and nine sixes. It speaks favourably of Yadav's unmatched conversation rate, notably among batsmen from Full Member Nations, that he has now scored a T20I tonne three times in as few as 43 innings.
After scoring 117 against England in July 2022 and 111* against New Zealand in November 2022, this is his third T20I century. He did this by passing teammate KL Rahul, who has two centuries, to become the second-highest Indian with centuries, only behind Rohit Sharma, who has four.
In addition, he scored a century in just 45 balls, making him the second-fastest Indian ever. Rohit Sharma is once again the fastest here. In Indore in 2017, he needed just 35 deliveries to reach his tonne against SL. Following him are KL Rahul's 46-ball innings against the West Indies from 2016 and his 48- and 349-ball knocks against England and New Zealand from the previous year.
He joins Sabawoon Davis, Colin Munro, Glenn Maxwell, and Rohit Sharma as batters with three or more tonnes in men's T20 Internationals (3).
Yadav displayed every unconventional stroke in his arsenal against Sri Lanka on Saturday, with the finest of the bunch coming when he blasted a high full ball from Dilshan Madushanka over short fine leg in the 13th over for a maximum.
At the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, players like Shubman Gill (46), Rahul Tripathi (35), and Suryakmar supported the hosts with a barrage of big smashes after India lost Ishan Kishan (1) early in the innings while batting first.
The runs scored by Tripathi, which featured two sixes and five fours, came off just 16 balls. Suryakumar, though, who smacked seven fours and nine sixes, was the night's true star.
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