'Can't Rely On Abhishek Sharma Every Time': Suryakumar Yadav Reflects On His And Shubman Gill's Failure
Suryakumar Yadav took the blame of the defeat on his shoulders, and also addressed the concerns surrounding Gill's form in the shortest format.
- Suryakumar Yadav said that India's overreliance on Abhishek Sharma cost them the 2nd T20I vs South Africa
- He took the blame of the defeat on his shoulders, and also addressed the rough patch of Shubman Gill in T20Is
- "Myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can't rely on Abhishek all the time," he said
India captain Suryakumar Yadav conceded that his team's overreliance on opening batter Abhishek Sharma cost them the game, as South Africa levelled the five-match T20I series in Mullanpur on Thursday. Riding on Quinton de Kock's blazing 90 and Ottniel Baartman's figures of 4-24, the Proteas thrashed the hosts by 51 runs. Chasing 214, India failed to recover from the blows of losing Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav and were bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Suryakumar took the blame of the defeat on his shoulders, and also addressed the concerns surrounding Gill's form in the shortest format. He urged his batters to step up their game while acknowledging that Abhishek has been carrying the responsibility of scoring runs of late.
"I think myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can't rely on Abhishek all the time. The way he's been batting, he might have an off-day. Me, Shubman and few other batters should have taken it. I think it would have been a smart chase. But then it's okay, Shubman got out on the first ball. But yeah, I should have taken that responsibility, batted a little deeper. But yeah, as I said, we learn, we try and do better in the next game to come. We just thought in the last game, we have seen Axar bat really well in the longer format. And we wanted him to bat back the same way today as well. But unfortunately, (it didn't work) he did bat well. But we will see what's up for us going on in the next game," said Suryakumar.
The local crowd was expecting their home heroes, Gill and Abhishek, to fire but it was not to be.
Yet to realise his potential in the shortest format, vice-captain Gill, facing his very first ball, got a beauty from Lungi Ngidi that seamed away from length to take a thick outside edge.
Abhshek was caught behind in the following over from Marco Jansen. Next to depart was skipper Suryakumar who too got a faint edge after Jansen angled it away from the India skipper.
The five match series now stands at 1-1 with the third match scheduled in Dharamsala on December 14.
(With PTI Inputs)
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team