'It was Sri Lanka vs Surya'- Hardik Pandya's massive praise for centurion Suryakumar Yadav after series win

Hardik Pandya Suryakumar Yadav

India and Sri Lanka clashed in the series decider on Saturday with India coming up with a thumping victory over the continental rivals. While the entirety of the team helped achieve the victory, it was Suryakumar Yadav whose contribution overshadowed all.

In just 45 balls the right-hand batter scored a sensational century bringing all of Sri Lanka's bowlers to their knees. The 32-year-old hit 7 fours and 9 sixes in his innings playing at a blistering strike rate of 219.61.

India’s new captain Hardik Pandya was understandably impressed by Suryakumar’s extraordinary knock. He was all smiles at the post-match after giving India their first series win in 2023.

He also lauded Suryakumar Yadav and said that the game felt more like Sri Lanka vs Surya and not India.centurion

“It’s definitely very easy because today it felt like it was ‘Sri Lanka vs Surya’. That makes my life very easy as a captain and that’s the reason I’ve always mentioned that someone like him is so important in white-ball cricket. The way he plays the game, the way he plays some of his shots, breaks the morale of the bowler and helps the other batter as well,” Pandya told the reporters.

Words of appreciation for Rahul Tripathi as well

Pandya also lauded Rahul Tripathi’s quickfire cameo at the start where he made 35 runs in just 16 balls with the help of 5 fours and 2 sixes.

“We all saw what Surya did but special mention to Rahul Tripathi for the kind of intent he showed. That is something natural to him which can change the momentum. If you see the first couple of overs, the ball was doing something and other batters in the dugout thought that there is something in the wicket. But because of his intent, the ball stopped moving all of a sudden, they changed their length and it was all about the way they were chasing the game,” Pandya added.

India now looks forward to the ODI series against Sri Lanka that starts on January 10^th at the Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati.