Suryakumar Yadav vs Shubman Gill: Decoding their First-Class stats
What's the story
Team India has some important decisions to make ahead of the four-match Australia Test series, starting February 9. With Shreyas Iyer being unavailable for the opener, the number five slot will be occupied by either Suryakumar Yadav or Shubman Gill. The former is yet to make his Test debut. Meanwhile, Gill has played most of his Tests as an opener. We decode their stats.
Context
Why does this story matter?
With this series being played in India, the lower and middle-order batters will be required to tackle spin well. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who has been the backbone of India's Test batting line-up lately, is unavailable for the entire series. Iyer's unavailability for the opener due to back issues has added to India's lower-order problems. Hence, the selection of the number-five batter holds great significance.
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Gill's performance in red-ball cricket
Gill has been sensational in First-Class cricket, scoring 3,278 runs in 40 games at 52.87. The tally includes nine tons and 16 fifties. 268 reads his highest score. His numbers go down by a fair margin in Tests as he has accumulated 736 runs in 13 games at 32. He has so far smoked four fifties and a ton in India whites.
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A look at SKY's numbers
Suryakumar, who has made a significant mark in T20I cricket, would like to shine in whites as well. The 32-year-old debuted in FC cricket back in 2010. He owns 5,549 runs across 79 matches. He averages a healthy 44.75. The stylish batter has slammed 14 tons and 28 fifties. The dasher scored 223 runs across three innings in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.
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Who adds more firepower?
Filling Iyer's boots will take some beating as the batter has been scoring consistently with an attacking approach. His Test strike rate of 65.14 is a testimony of the same. SKY strikes at 63.56 in red-ball cricket. Though Gill's big-hitting ability isn't rated as high as that of Suryakumar, the former is ahead in terms of FC strike rate (69.59).
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Gill's golden run in white-ball cricket
Meanwhile, Gill has been on a role in white-ball cricket lately. He owns four tons and a fifty in his last nine international outings. His ODI average of 73.76 is the highest among batters with at least 1,000 runs in the format. Last month, he struck an ODI double-ton and a T20I century versus New Zealand.
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What did skipper Rohit Sharma say?
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, ahead of the game, stated that the number-five batter is not yet decided. "Shubman (Gill) has been in supreme form. He has scored a lot of big hundreds (in ODIs). On the other hand, SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) has shown what he brings to the range, but we have not decided who we will go with," Rohit said.
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Iyer's sensational numbers in Test cricket
Iyer's Test career has flown nicely. He slammed a record-breaking Test ton on his debut against New Zealand in Kanpur in 2021. He had become the 10th Indian batter in Test history to slam a ton on debut. In seven Tests, the right-handed batter has slammed 624 runs at an incredible average of 56.73. The tally includes five fifties besides a ton.
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Double figures in every knock
As per Rajneesh Gupta, Iyer had become the first Indian player to reach double figures in each of his first 10 innings in Test cricket. He is yet to be dismissed for a single-digit score in the format. His scores read 29*, 87, 86, 19, 15, 67, 92, 27, 14, 18, 65, and 105. As mentioned, Iyer strikes at 65.14 in Tests.