Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday said his "dugout can really be at ease" when Suryakumar Kumar is in the middle playing astonishing shots. Suryakumar reaffirmed his status as the world's number one T20 batter with another magnificent effort as India crushed Zimbabwe by 71 runs to set up a T20 World Cup semifinal date with England. (More Cricket News | Scorecard)
"The dugout can really be at ease when he bats, and he's shown a lot of composure when he's batted. We expected this from him, and he's gone from strength to strength," Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Suryakumar blasted an unbeaten 61 from 25 balls after KL Rahul set it up with a brisk fifty. In reply to India's 186 for five, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 115 in 17.2 overs.
"What SKY is doing for the team is remarkable, just coming out there, playing that way, taking the pressure off the others. We know his ability, and it allows the guy at the other end to take his time," Rohit added.
Zimbabwe's batting depth was never enough to challenge the Indian bowlers with Ravichandran Ashwin (3/22) enjoying a good day at the office. In fact, all the other Indian bowlers were among wickets in one of the most lopsided games of this global event.
"A very good all-round performance, something we were looking for. We had qualified, but we wanted to come out and play the way we wanted to play, which we achieved."
Rohit said going into the semifinals at the Adelaide Oval, the key will be adjusting to the conditions quickly.
"The key for us will be to adjust quickly to the conditions. We have played a game there, but we need to adjust quickly. England are a good team, and it will be a great contest. "We should take pride in qualifying, firstly, and if we play that semi-final well, we have another big game as well. It's about understanding the lines and lengths - the square boundaries are shorter - and executing well.
"The fans have been brilliant all this while, almost everywhere we have gone we've got a full house, and we expect the same in the semi-finals as well. On behalf of the team I'd really like to thank them."
