Cricket
Zaheer Khan hands out AB de Villiers’ 360-degree tag to India star | Cricket
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Suryakumar Yadav’s Team India will hope to bounce back in the five-match series after a Glenn Maxwell mayhem powered Australia to a stunning win in the 3rd T20I at Guwahati on Tuesday. While ‘Big Show’ Maxwell smashed a match-winning century, Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad played a stellar knock to extend his scoring run in the bilateral series between the World Cup 2023 finalists.
Recording a diamond duck in the series opener, youngster Gaikwad sparked a turnaround with a gritty half-century in the 2nd T20I against Australia. The India opener then followed it up with a historic century as Gaikwad became the first Indian to slam a ton against Australia in the shortest format. Gaikwad enjoyed fruitful partnerships with skipper Suryakumar (39) and Tilak Varma (31*) in the high-scoring 3rd T20I against the visitors.
ALSO READ: Can Rohit lead India in T20Is after Hardik’s return? Suryakumar emerges as leading candidate for SA series – Report
The leading run-getter in the T20I series, batter Gaikwad is followed by skipper Suryakumar on the batting charts. Leading Team India for the first time, Suryakumar has smashed 138 runs in the first three games of the T20I series. Talking about the five-match series between India and Australia on Cricbuzz, former India pacer Zaheer Khan handed out AB de Villiers’ 360-degree tag to skipper Suryakumar. One of the most impactful batters in T20I cricket, Suryakumar has drawn comparisons with the South African batting icon for his 360-degree batting style.
‘Suryakumar certainly the most deserving candidate’
“He (Suryakumar) is certainly the most deserving of the lot right now, from whatever are seeing of players going around right now. He has tried to replicate that, isn’t it? You have seen those sixes over point and those shots to third man, those ramp shots, and those shots to the fine leg area. All those kind of aspects, he is certainly the most deserving candidate when it comes to AB de Villiers’ 360-degree tag,” Zaheer said.
How Suryakumar has performed as captain
Making his captaincy debut after the 2023 World Cup, Surya played a brilliant knock of 80 off 42 balls in the 1st T20I against Australia at Visakhapatnam. The India skipper had a forgetful outing with the willow in the 2nd T20I as he was dismissed for 19 off 10 balls at Thiruvananthapuram. The in-form batter will lead India’s batting charge in the 4th T20I against the Men from Down Under on Friday.
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