Ranking Suryakumar Yadav's three T20I hundreds
It has been less than two years since Suryakumar Yadav made his debut in T20Is. Since then, he has dominated the shortest format and climbed up the ladder, and is currently ranked World No. 1 as per the ICC T20I batting rankings.
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The World No. 1️ has been at it again 🏏
Suryakumar Yadav’s third century in T20I cricket underlined his status as the world’s best batter in the men's format right now.
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Suryakumar Yadav's journey in his brief international T20I career has been an incredible one. In 43 T20I innings, 'SKY' he has scored 1578 runs at an average of 46.41 and has an astonishing strike rate of 180.34. He has three centuries and 13 half-centuries in his T20I career.
Yadav has evolved as the new Mr. 360 degree and can play attacking shots all around the ground, with his behind-the-back shots quickly becoming his signature.
Team India won all two of the three matches in which Suryakumar Yadav scored a century. Here is a ranking of his three centuries in T20Is:
#1 112* against Sri Lanka at Saurashtra Cricket Stadium in Rajkot:
Yadav's century against Sri Lanka in the third T20I at Rajkot ranks as his best T20I century to date. He reached the landmark of his century in just 45 balls and became the second-fastest Indian to score a T20I ton.
Starting the year right 🏆🇮🇳 https://t.co/Kb46lOALhT
India lost openers Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tripathi inside the powerplay overs and Yadav walked into bat at number four. What followed was absolute carnage for the Sri Lankan bowlers.
The 32-year-old smashed nine maximums and seven boundaries in his innings and remained unbeaten on 112 from just 51 balls and had an unbelievable strike rate of 219.61 during his innings.
The wicket was initially helping the Sri Lankan bowlers but had no impact on the way SKY batted. He was dominant from the word go and none of the bowlers were spared. Riding on his knock, India scored a massive 228 for the loss of five wickets and Surya was the only player from either of the teams to score over 50 runs.
Team India won the match by 91 runs and ended the series by a margin of 2-1.
#2 111* against New Zealand at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui:
India's first assignment post the T20 World Cup 2022 was a three-match T20I series in New Zealand. The first T20I was washed out due to rain and the action shifted to the second T20I where Yadav displayed another master-class innings.
On a wicket where batsmen from both teams struggled to get going, SKY smashed his second T20I century. He scored an unbeaten 111 from 51 balls that included 11 boundaries and six maximums. He had a strike rate of 217.65 against an experienced bowling lineup comprising Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, and Mitchell Santner. India scored 191 runs in 20 overs, while Surya scored 58.12% of India's runs.
The 192 target was a stiff one for the Kiwis as India won the match by 65 runs and Suryakumar Yadav was awarded the Man of the Match.
#3 117 vs England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham:
Yadav's maiden T20I ton was against England at Trent Bridge on 10th July 2022. India had already won the first two T20Is in the three-match series and were looking to whitewash the hosts by winning the third encounter.
England scored a mammoth 215 for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. The target of 216 for India was a challenging one and the top three i.e. Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma were dismissed early. The Mumbai native built a partnership with Shreyas Iyer and the duo added 119 for the fifth wicket before the latter was dismissed.
SKY continued his onslaught on the English bowlers and the likes of David Willey, Reece Topley, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, and Richard Gleeson failed to contain Surya. He scored his maiden ton and got India close to a win. He was eventually dismissed on 117 from just 55 balls that included 14 boundaries and six maximums. India fell short of the target by 17 runs. However, Suryakumar Yadav was the only bright spot for team India during the run chase.