Yadav’s 360 degree skills stole the thunder again in a T20 international match on Saturday. His third century in the format, an undiscarded 112 from 51, led India to a decisive 91-point victory over Sri Lanka in the third and decisive T20I in Rajkot.
“It’s really important to put pressure on yourself when you’re preparing for the game. The more pressure you put on, the better you can play. There’s a lot of hard work involved. Some quality training sessions are also involved,” said said Yadav. after his winning move.
India posted 228/5 and then knocked out Sri Lanka for 137.
Surya’s powerful innings, including 9 sixes and 7 fours, and his penchant for hitting sixes behind the wicket were further fueled by short limits in this part of the field.
“The limits behind were 59-60m, so I tried to break through them. There are some shots that are pre-determined, but you have to be ready for other shots as well,” he said.
Yadav said the freedom he gets from head coach Rahul Dravid helps him play his game naturally and smoothly.
“Most of the time I try to find the gap and use the pitch to my advantage. Dravid lets me take advantage and tells me to express myself,” Yadav said.
In seven months, Yadav racked up three centuries of white balls in the shortest format, while becoming the fastest 1500 T20I runs in terms of balls faced.
In 45 T20I, the Mumbai born cricketer scored 1578 runs at an average of 46.41 and a strike rate of 180.34 with three hundred and 13 half centuries to his name.
“I’m really happy with how the heats went,” added Yadav. “Some of my shots are pre-determined, but those are the shots I’ve played over the last year and I don’t do anything different.
“So nothing new. It’s a fresh start in 2023 and I hope to continue to do well.”
(With PTI inputs)
