'Can't rely on Abhishek Sharma every time', says Suryakumar Yadav
What's the story
Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has accepted that his team's over-dependence on opener Abhishek Sharma led to their defeat in the 2nd clash against South Africa. The match, played in Mullanpur, saw the Proteas beat India by 51 runs and level the five-match T20I series. Quinton de Kock's blistering 90 and Ottniel Baartman's impressive bowling performance (4-24) were instrumental in South Africa's victory.
Match details
India's batting collapse and Suryakumar's admission
Chasing a massive target of 214 runs, India faltered after losing Gill, Abhishek Sharma, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav early on. They were bundled out for just 162 runs in 19.1 overs. Addressing the media after the match, Suryakumar took responsibility for the defeat and spoke about Gill's form in T20 cricket. He stressed that other batters need to step up their game while acknowledging Abhishek's recent performance as a key contributor to their batting lineup.
Captain's insights
Suryakumar's reflections on team's performance
"I think myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can't rely on Abhishek all the time. The way he's been batting, he might have an off-day," the skipper lamented. SKY also felt he should have taken the responsibility. "Me, Shubman and few other batters should have taken it. I think it would have been a smart chase. But then it's okay, Shubman got out on the first ball. But yeah, I should have taken that responsibility, batted a little deeper."
Performance
Suryakumar Yadav continues poor T20I run in 2025
India's T20I captain Suryakumar has continued to fail this year. The senior cricketer perished for a paltry score of 5 runs off four balls. Suryakumar was dismissed by Marco Jansen in the 4th over with India getting reduced to 32/3. Playing his 19th T20I this year (17 innings), Suryakumar has managed to score only 201 runs at 14.35, as per ESPNcricinfo. He had earlier scored 12 runs in the 1st T20I held in Cuttack.