 "'Shubman, myself could have...': Suryakumar Yadav says poor form of leadership duo behind India's 2nd T20I loss")
Captain Suryakumar Yadav said that he and vice captain Shubman Gill should have given the team a better start in the second T20I on Thursday where India lost to South Africa by 51 runs to see the five-match series get level.
Suryakumar has been in terrible form for the past two years in T20Is and Gill too has not been able to score big since his return to the side in this format in September. The duo failed again in the second game and the captain said they could have done better.
IND vs SA: ‘Can’t rely on Abhishek all time’
India were chasing 214 to win the game but the failure of the top order trio of Suryakumar, Gill and Abhishek Sharma pushed the hosts behind quite early in the game. The skipper said that the team cannot rely on Abhishek all the time.
“I think myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can’t rely on Abhishek all the time. The way he’s been batting, he might have an off day. Me, Shubman and few other batters should have taken it. I think it would have been a smart chase,” said Suryakumar in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“But then it’s okay, Shubman got out on the first ball. But yeah, I should have taken that responsibility, batted a little deeper. But yeah, as I said, we learn, we try and do better in the next game to come,” said the Indian T20I captain.
Suryakumar reveals reason behind Axar’s promotion
The decision to send Axar Patel on number three has been criticised heavily by fans but the skipper said the team was trying the all-rounder up the order because he was batting well.
“We just thought in the last game, we have seen Axar bat really well in the longer format. And we wanted him to bat back the same way today as well. But unfortunately, (it didn’t work) he did bat well. But we will see what’s up for us going on in the next game,” said Suryakumar.
Axar could only score 21 from 21 balls when 214 was needed to win in 20 overs. Earlier, thanks to a brilliant 90 from Quinton de Kock, South Africa had posted a formidable total of 213/4.
 "What the dramatic US seizure of Venezuela-linked oil tanker tells us")
 "Should Ukraine concede territory to Russia? Zelenskyy wants Ukrainians to vote in referendum")
 "Who is Kilmar Ábrego García, the man ‘mistakenly’ deported by US, now freed?")
 "Trump's new tax guidance could let companies save billions more")
 "What the dramatic US seizure of Venezuela-linked oil tanker tells us")
 "Should Ukraine concede territory to Russia? Zelenskyy wants Ukrainians to vote in referendum")
 "Who is Kilmar Ábrego García, the man ‘mistakenly’ deported by US, now freed?")
 "Trump's new tax guidance could let companies save billions more")
