IND vs SL 2023: If I were bowling to SKY, I’d be disheartened on seeing his batting – Hardik Pandya

India’s stand-in captain Hardik Pandya has admitted he would be disheartened if he is bowling to Suryakumar Yadav. SKY, as he is famously known, played a blistering knock of 112 runs off just 51 balls against Sri Lanka in the third T20I against Sri Lanka at Rajkot on Saturday as India won by a massive margin of 91 runs to clinch the series 2-1.

It was a typical Suryakumar Yadav’s knock as he was able to find boundaries from the get-go. India was given a good start as Rahul Tripathi, playing his second T20I, scored a fine little cameo of 35 runs off just 16 balls. SKY was then able to capitalize on the momentum as Sri Lankan bowlers were under pressure.

The right-hander once again played with the field and found gaps at will to score his runs at a brisk pace. SKY reached fifty off just 25 balls and then completed his hundred off just 45 balls – the second fastest T20I century for India – as he continued to dominate the Sri Lankan bowlers.

SKY scored the lion’s share of his runs in the deep fine-leg area as he scooped the ball with great success against the Sri Lankan pacers.

Hardik Pandya said in the post-match press conference, “I think he (SKY) has been surprising everyone every innings that he is batting. He is just telling us that batting is so easy. If I were bowling to him, I’d be disheartened on seeing his batting. Special mention to Rahul Tripathi – the ball was doing something but he showed great intent. Then SKY did his thing. You don’t need to tell him anything, he knows what to do. If there is any situation where he is unsure, we have our chats but more often than not, he knows what to do.”

On the other hand, Pandya also showered praise on Axar Patel, who was awarded the Player of the Series. Patel returned with scores of 31* off 21, 65 off 31, and 21* off nine in the series. The left-arm orthodox spinner also took three wickets in three matches at an economy rate of 7.40.

Pandya added, “I’m really proud of him (Axar), the way he is batting down the order and hitting. This will give a lot of confidence to him and the team as well. My motto in life as captain has been that I’ll back my players. These are the best T20 cricketers in India and that’s why they are here. There is no space for doubting in this format and we’re backing the players properly. The way we played in the series is pleasing, we didn’t even play 50 percent of our game in the second game but we still fought well.”

The first ODI between India and Sri Lanka will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Tuesday.