Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav was all praise for pacer Arshdeep Singh, who defended 10 runs off the final over in the fifth T20I against Australia on Sunday, December 3 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. India won the series 4-1, securing a six-run win in the final game.
Team India managed 160 runs on the board on the back of Shreyas Iyer’s fifty. Jitesh Sharma and Axar Patel also contributed well in the lower order. In response, Mukesh Kumar led the Indian bowling unit. He took three wickets in the match, including a double strike to dismiss Matthew Short and Ben Dwarshuis. Arshdeep defended 10 runs off the final over and finished with bowling figures of 2/40.
The five-match T20I series was the maiden Indian captaincy challenge for Suryakumar Yadav, who was delighted with the performance. Speaking post-India’s win, the skipper expressed in a video shared by the BCCI,
“Obviously, it feels good to win the series, and on top of that as a captain. Everyone, including the support staff, supported me well.”
“Whatever I told Paaji, he executed it. I have seen him bowling in such situations, hence I kept his over at the last. I told the rest of the bowlers, that if we keep 10-12 runs for the last over, the pressure will be on them, as we have to execute one or two deliveries well. Arshdeep kept it tight and only conceded three runs in the final over,” he added.
Watch the video here:
Batters will win your matches, but the bowlers will win your series: Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav also praised Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel for their performance in the series. Axar Patel won the Player of the Match for his all-round performance. He took 1 wicket conceding just 14 runs in four overs. Bishnoi won the Player of the Series award, taking nine wickets in the series. Suryakumar Yadav said,
“Everyone says T20 cricket is a batter’s game, the batters will score runs, it is harsh on the bowlers. But according to me, the batters will win your matches, but the bowlers will win your series. And that is what happened.”
“Axar has won back-to-back Man of the Matches, which is huge. I am very happy for him. And Bishnoi, we know, has been doing well regularly. The way he has made a comeback after the first game to win the Man of the Series, he has shown class character,” he added.
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