It was a return of sorts for Suryakumar Yadav to his favourable batting position in absence of Virat Kohli as he smacked New Zealand bowlers around at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday, to help his side get over the line in the first of the three-match T20I series.
Chasing 165 runs, Team India got off to an absolute flier owing to the new skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, who played perfect second fiddle to him. The duo scored 50 runs in the first five overs, however, Rahul couldn't continue for long after that as Mitchell Santner dismissed him for 15.
In came Suryakumar Yadav, at No 3 and played with his usual flair and flamboyance. He took his chances against the spinners, especially the leggie Todd Astle. Surya was too good for his flight and guile on a surface, which was good for batting and wasn't offering much as far as the turn was concerned.
Surya forged a match-winning partnership with Rohit of 59 runs as even though the latter missed out on his fifty by a couple of runs, he didn't as he went on to score 62 runs off just 40 balls including half-a-dozen fours and three sixes.
Surya had his share of luck as he was dropped by his Mumbai Indians teammate Trent Boult in the 16th over, however, it didn't cost New Zealand much as the left-arm pacer redeemed himself by cleaning up his stumps.
Talking about the dropped catch, Surya thanked Boult for misjudging saying, "It's my wife's birthday also and it's a perfect gift from him."
India are 1-0 up in the three-match series and will look to seal it on Friday in MS Dhoni's hometown in Ranchi.
