New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was full of praise for Suryakumar Yadav after the Indian batsman won the match in the second T20I at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday. After the hosts opted to bowl at Tauranga, Suryakumar hit an unbeaten 111 off 51 balls, his second century in shortest format, to enter the record books. While summarizing the match, Williamson said Suryakumar’s knock proved to be the difference between the two sides, adding that he was mesmerized by some of the Indian star’s shots.
“It wasn’t our best effort. Surya’s innings were out of this world. One of the best shots I’ve ever seen. Some of those shots I’ve never seen before. They were excellent, we weren’t good. We didn’t get momentum with the ball, didn’t get enough wickets and didn’t get momentum with the bat,” said Williamson at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Williamson also labeled Suryakumar as the best player in the world currently.
“It was frustrating. Again I will say about Suryakumar, his innings was the difference. It fluctuated a bit (in the chase) and India did well to get some swing. Important to look at those few areas and improve . Need to look at the small margins. Sometimes special innings can happen, Surya is the best player in the world,” he added.
After being brought to bat, India posted a total of 191/6, on the back of Surya’s fiery blow.
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In reply New Zealand were bowled out for 126 with Deepak Hooda scalping four wickets.
With the win, India took a 1-0 lead in the series as the first game on Friday was wiped out with no ball bowled.
The final will be played on Tuesday at Mclean Park in Napier.
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