India batter Suryakumar Yadav dedicated his match-winning knock against New Zealand in the first T20I on Wednesday to wife Devisha Shetty, who was celebrating her birthday on the day. Suryakumar also teased Mumbai Indians (MI) teammate Trent Boult for dropping a catch of him as India beat New Zealand by five-wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five match series. Batting first, New Zealand posted a total of 164/5 from their 20 overs. In response, India overhauled the total with five wickets and two balls to spare, thanks to Suryakumar's 62-run knock.
Speaking in the presentation ceremony after the game, Suryakumar said, "I have not been doing anything different, just being myself whatever I have doing since the last 3-4 years. I bat the same way in the nets and replicate the same in the middle.
"I try and put a lot of pressure on myself in the nets, for example if I get out I just try to come out of the nets and try and think what better I could have done and it really helps when I play in the middle."
He added that dew may have helped India while chasing. "The ball was coming on nicely with the dew coming in and later on it became really slow but in the end happy to be on the winning side. I would have loved to finish the game but that's how you learn and move forward," the 31-year-old said.
The MI star then revealed it was his wife Devisha's birthday and dedicated the knock to her, while also taking a dig at his IPL teammate Boult.
Boult dropped Suryakumar in the 16th over after the latter had already hit his fifty. It didn't make much of a difference though as Boult went on to dismiss Suryakumar in the next over.
"About Trent, It's my wife's birthday also and it's a perfect gift from him," said Suryakumar.