Suryakumar Yadav led India from the front as the Men in Blue avenged their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final defeat against Australia by beating them in the first of five T20Is taking place in India. The stand-in skipper scored 80 as the Men in Blue chased down their biggest-ever target in T20
Suryakumar Yadav will take some time before he can let the heady feeling of being the India captain sink in but when he is out there with the willow, he believes in keeping the baggage of leadership in the dressing room. (As It Happened | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
Surya made his senior India captaincy debut with a two-wicket victory over Australia in the first T20 International here on Thursday and also headlined the 209-run chase with a superb 80 off 42 balls.
"I think it's a proud moment, whenever you play cricket, you think of representing India, it will take some time to sink in but very proud," Surya said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"I left the (captaincy) luggage in the dressing room. I just tried to enjoy my batting, whether I am batting 10 or 40 balls," said Surya when asked how to compartmentalise batting and leadership.
Rinku Singh, all of six T20Is 'old' scored 22 not out off 14 balls and finished the game when it was just slipping out of hand.
"The way the boys kept their nerve was great to see. It was a tailor-made situation for Rinku. His composure relaxed me also," Surya said.
He also didn't forget to mention Mukesh Kumar's final over in the Australian innings that cost just five runs where the Bengal speedster nailed the yorker repeatedly.
"It was huge," the skipper said about Mukesh.
"The way all three fast bowlers pulled us back into the game after 16 overs. Incredible achievement."
In fact, with no dew, chasing could have been tricky but it wasn't, conceded Surya.
"Thought there will be a little bit of dew but there wasn't. It isn't a big ground and I knew batting will get easy. Thought they might get 230-235 but the bowlers did really well," the skipper seemed satisfied.
He and Ishan Kishan joined forces at 22 for two and both have encountered such situations numerous times for Mumbai Indians.
"We just wanted to be positive. Just enjoy and express ourselves. I told Kishan one thing, just keep batting, don't think of the target. After 10 overs, it was a tailor-made situation. 100 off 60 balls happens every second day in IPL," he said.