INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: India beat Australia in the first T20I at Visakhapatnam on Thursday as Suryakumar Yadav (42-ball-80) slammed the highest
individual score on captaincy debut for India in T20Is.The dashing batsman was named the Player-of-the-Match for the 13th time in T20Is, his
second award against Australia.Suryakumar's match-winning knock was studded with 4 sixes and 9 fours.Suryakumar's 112-run third-wicket stand
with Ishan Kishan, who smashed a 39-ball 58, proved key after the hosts lost their openers on 22.In a video shared by the Board of Control
for Cricket in India (BCCI), Suryakumar relived his knock that was instrumental in helping India take a 1-0 lead in the five-match
series.Asked to describe his game in one word, 'Mr 360 degrees' said, "fearless"."I think, he (Ishan) helped me really well
For me to be fearless, him staying there and his knock was very important," said Suryakumar, whose strike rate of 190.47 was the key to the
chase.Finally, Rinku Singh drove India to victory with an unbeaten 22 off 14 deliveries."I think he (Rinku) was very calm, though it was a
When he came in to bat, he was very calm and the composure which he showed, I think, that was great to see," Suryakumar told the BCCI.On
whether there were tense moments in the dressing room after seeing Australia's 200-plus total on the board, the skipper said, "Little bit
Itna experience nahin hai dressing room mein (there isn't that much experience in the dressing room) but all the boys were excited."When
they saw the score on the board, they only said one thing, 'if we win this game it will be truly enjoyable'."Very proud to lead the country
and very happy to contribute in my first game as captain
Looking forward to the next game and how it goes," added Suryakumar
The second T20I is on Sunday in Thiruvananthapuram.(With PTI inputs)
