Ahead of the India vs England T20 World Cup semifinal, a former Australia batter has hoped for Suryakumar Yadav’s bat to remain quiet.
After Virat Kohli, if any other player has been the story of the T20 World Cup for India, it is Suryakumar Yadav. The India middle-order batter has continued where he left off prior to the World Cup, burning up the charts and leaving everyone in awe with his majestic hitting skills. In five matches, Suryakumar Yadav has registered scores of 15, 51 not out, 68, 30 and an unbeaten 61. What makes some of these knocks even more special is the situations they came in. Against South Africa, India were 49/5 when Suryakumar played arguably the best knock of his career, slamming 68 off just 40 balls. Next, in the Zimbabwe tie, India had hit a roadblock and were struggling to accelerate in the final overs before SKY launched himself and took his team to 186.
As India qualified for the semifinal, Suryakumar’s form is vital for the knockout clash against England on Thursday. However, former Australia batter Michael Hussey, who is the coaching consultant of England in this World Cup, wishes the India batter to have an off day against his side. While Hussey likes what he sees of Surya and admits to love watching the India batter play, he is hoping for Suryakumar’s bat to remain quiet at the Adelaide Oval.
“He’s been sensational and has been doing it for a number of years in the IPL. And now to do it consistently at the highest level, it’s great to watch. Personally, love watching him bat. Obviously, I hope he doesn’t get a big score against England on Thursday (laughs),” Hussey told Sportstar.
It is only the second time that India and England are facing each other in a World Cup semifinal. The last time it happened was in 1983, and everyone knows how that ended. India and England have squared off several times in T20I in the last couple of years – most recently in June, where Rohit Sharma and Co. registered a series win over the hosts. But all that is part of a history and Hussey is excited at the prospect of a great contest between the two quality teams.
“India are a fantastic team, and we knew that coming into the tournament. We have to be very close to our best to really challenge them and win the match. And maybe, it’ll just be one or two little things. Whether they go for us or they go against us could be the difference between winning and losing the match,” added Hussey.
“It’s going to be a great spectacle – two fantastic teams and they’ll both be going as hard as they possibly can. It’s the World Cup semifinal, and that prize to make it to the final at the MCG is pretty motivating. So, it should be it should be a great contest.”
