Bridgetown (Barbados), Jun 21 (IANS): After a match-winning knock of 53 off 28 against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup Super 8 match, India batter Suryakumar was full of praises for the Afghan spinner Rashid Khan and described him as the world’s best bowler.
During his 53-run innings, Suryakumar hit 16 runs off the six deliveries he faced from Rashid to help lift his side to a winning total of 181/8 at the Kensington Oval on Thursday night.
Speaking after the match, the world no.1 T20I batter highlighted the necessity of asserting dominance against a player he regards as the world's best bowler.
"I have told this before as well and I'll say that again on air when he bowls, it's very difficult to pick him so I know what shots I want to play when I'm inside. Best bowler in the world. You can't let him dominate. You have to be a step ahead. But I am happy to be on a better side today," said Suryakumar.
Batting first, India were 79/3 after 10 overs, having lost Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Virat Kohli. But Suryakumar's partnership with Hardik Pandya got them back on an even keel, leading to a solid first-innings score of 181/8.
In their response, Afghanistan were bowled out for 134, thanks to an exceptional spell from Jasprit Bumrah, who finished with figures of 3-7, as India sealed a 47-run win.
For his match-defining knock, Suryakumar was adjudged Player of the Match, speaking about his performance, the batter said "I think there's a lot of hard work and practice gone behind this. And as I say again and again, there's a lot of process and routines involved and when I go inside, when I play the game, I know I'm pretty clear in my mind what I want to do. Really happy with the way things went. And yeah, the first batter to get better of the match, hopefully the first of many.
"I still remember when Hardik came into bat, I told him the same thing. Let's keep back with the same intent. Let's not leave too much to the end because in the end, it was definitely going to be a difficult thing to do with the ball getting old, reversing and all. So, I said let's keep pressing the pedal and see where we get in the end of 16 overs. But yeah, very happy with the way we got 180 on the board," he added.
When asked about the adjustments needed after playing on challenging pitches in the USA and then moving to the Caribbean, the 33-year-old responded, "I think you just need to know what the game plan is. You practice accordingly when you get a few practice sessions and just know your game and when you go inside give the team fast what the team requires on that given day. Just, just be that way when you look at how the."