T20 World Cup: After Suryakumar Yadav’s incredible rescue act against USA, Ashwin highlights one special aspect: ‘Back into his game…’

“Shadley van Schalkwyk wasn’t express pace, he was using his cutters and variations. Usually, when we watch IPL matches at Wankhede, we are not used to seeing those kind of deliveries work. Absolutely don’t work. But the ball was sticking on the wicket, and they came with good plans for Surya clearly. They were taking the pace off, and they were trying to keep it very straight. USA came prepared very well for most of the Indian batters,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash ki baat’.

After that, using a graphical breakdown of Suryakumar’s innings, Ashwin highlighted a couple of takeaways on how the Indian captain made the most of the conditions. Surya’s phase-wise domination showed he scored 45 off 31 balls in the middle overs even when India struggled to get going, and then exploded with 38 off 16 balls in the death overs.

“Saurabh Netravalkar was USA’s best bowler in the last World Cup, and SKY took him on. And the runs that Netravalkar conceded… that was the only thing that gave India a bit of comfort. And 37% of Surya’s runs were scored behind the wicket. It was a 360-degree masterclass. This is the one area where most of the teams have been able to restrict SKY’s run-getting. That is now back into his game, because he took his time at the crease. What a captain’s knock he played. It was absolutely wonderful. The strike rate against a left-arm pacer like Nethravalkar was ekdum No 1. Left-armers generally have the knack of troubling most batters,” Ashwin explained.

As Suryakumar also mentioned after the match, 2025 was tough for him but switching off for a bit at the end of the season after South Africa series helped him recharge and return to form. “We know how testing the last one year was for Surya, the batter, but he is well and truly back,” Ashwin added.

The spin-bowling stalwart also noted one area of concern for India, as they slumped to 77/6 after losing four wickets within the powerplay. “It was surprsing that, after the first 2-3 wickets fell, India didn’t adapt the right way and didn’t read the pitch well. If India had predicted that this wicket is tacky and not the usual Wankhede pitch, India could have been conservative, held up wickets and eventually captialised at the end, the way SKY batted at the end. India could have ended up with 20-30 runs more. But I felt 160 was defendable.”