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3 min readMar 12, 2026 08:20 AM IST
India's captain Suryakumar Yadav dances with former India international Sunil Gavaskar after India won the T20 World Cup final match against New Zealand in Ahmedabad. (PHOTO: AP)
India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav revealed how a 10-minute video montage of Indian batters and bowlers dominating proceedings over the last two years, embedded with mood-lifting Bollywood songs from Baahubali and Kesari 2, helped the side shed their disappointment after the loss to South Africa in the Super 8 stage and set a fresh tone moving forward, which eventually took India to the title.
Suryakumar credited these small moments that make a team stronger, be it the introduction of a ₹10,000 prize for the best fielder in practice by fielding coach T. Dilip or watching your own batting and bowling footage from the video analyst. Speaking to The Indian Express, Suryakumar said, “The people working behind the scenes — fielding coach T Dilip introduced a ₹10,000 prize for the best fielder in practice. After the South Africa game, the video analyst showed us a ten-minute video of the past two years — one reel for the batters set to the Baahubali song, one for the bowlers set to ‘O Shera Teer Te Taj’. These small moments make a team stronger.”
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India’s historic campaign at the T20 World Cup 2026 was one with more highs than lows. A dominant India, led by Suryakumar, topped their group stage with wins over the USA, Pakistan, Namibia and the Netherlands. A blip came against South Africa in Ahmedabad, but India lifted their morale from there and registered big wins over Zimbabwe and the West Indies to qualify for the semifinals.
It was a Sanju Samson special in the semis, where India brushed aside a tough challenge from England in a high-scoring thriller, before thrashing New Zealand in an almost completely one-sided affair in the summit clash to win their record-extending third T20 World Cup title.
Surya also spoke about the value of keeping the team environment light. He said, “Freedom of speech in a team environment is very important — you have to hear everyone out. I go to ground level and talk to everyone. Those tense moments became funny sometimes too. Like when Rinku Singh tried to speak in English and everyone had to control their laughter. Same with Tilak Varma speaking in his Hyderabadi accent. These things bring a team together as much as anything.”
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