It was heartwarming gesture by Kohli: Suryakumar Yadav on former Indian captain’s reaction to his blistering knock

Dubai [UAE], September 1 (ANI): After securing a spot in the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, star of the match Suryakumar Yadav said that he is ready to bat anywhere and added that it was a heartwarming gesture by Virat Kohli as the former India captain bowed to Suryakumar after the innings came to an end.
Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering 68*, Virat Kohli’s 59* and Ravindra Jadeja’s quick fielding helped India secure direct qualification to the Super Four phase of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 after beating Hong Kong by 40 runs here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
India outplayed Hong Kong in all departments and also became the second team to qualify for the Super four.
His blistering knock left Virat Kohli in awe as the former India skipper bowed to Suryakumar after the innings.
“It was a heartwarming gesture by Virat Kohli. Because I’ve never seen it. I saw him not moving ahead and said let’s move ahead together. He has so much experience, I enjoyed batting with him. It is important to have someone experienced in a situation like this match. Because I may not have played so many games yet,” said Suryakumar in a post-match press conference.
Suryakumar’s batting blitz stood out. The number four batsman hit a fifty in just 22 balls and ended India’s innings with four sixes in the last over.
Talking about his majestic knock, Suryakumar said, “The situation was such that I had to go to the crease and play fast. Because the wicket was a little slow in the starting, I talked to Virat Kohli, he said ‘just express yourself and do as you bat’. My plan was also very clear on how to bat so it was fun.”
On the performance of Indian young pace attack Ashdeep Singh and Avesh Khan, Suryakumar Yadav said, “From my idea, they are not bowling badly. Recently they have also got the man of the match, I don’t know which. Both are bowling well. I feel everyone is in a good space and doing well. I think every bowler has that one off day.”
“We keep talking about the situations of the match that if such a situation comes, then how to play in it. We were discussing the plans that we need to score 170-180 plus. I feel it is a challenge to bat in the first innings but we need to be ready for it. I plan my shots and try to express myself through it. We tried to beat Hong Kong by a bigger margin but the opposition also did a few things right. I am ready to bat at any position for the team. I just want to play no matter what position I have to bat and that is what I have told my coach,” he added.
Talking about the match, chasing a target of 193, Hong Kong were at three wickets loss. Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja got the all-important wicket of Babar Hayat, who was smashing Indian bowler to keep Hong Kong alive in the match. Jadeja then ended Nizakat Khan’s stint with a direct hit on stumps.
Arshdeep Singh gave India a big breakthrough as he dismissed opener Yasim Murtaza. In the last overs, Hong Kong tried to make a comeback in the game through Zeeshan Ali, who was in red-hot form and slammed many big shots but it was too late as India already clinched the match by 40 runs as well as the Super Four spot in the tournament.
Earlier, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav starred for India with the bat as the Men in Blue posted a total of 192/2 against Hong Kong in an Asia Cup Group A match. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 59 off 44 balls and Suryakumar slammed 68 not out off 26 and the duo stitched an unbeaten 98 runs to rescue India, who were down to 94 for two under 15 overs. (ANI)