India defeated South Africa 2-0 on Sunday in Guwahati to wrap off the series. India and South Africa battled it out on a superb batting surface at the Barsapara Stadium under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav and David Miller. After 40 overs, during which a snake intervened, a floodlight failed, and 458 runs were scored, India edged out the Proteas by 16 runs to win their first-ever home T20I series.
Miller’s 106* off 47 came in a partnership of 174 with Quinton de Kock (69*), while Suryakumar smashed 61 off 22 for India and put on 102 off just 42 for the third wicket.
One of the major advantages for India going into the T20 World Cup, when they play their opening match against rival Pakistan on October 23, is Suryakumar’s performance. Rohit is aware of how significant the performance of India’s No. 4 batter will be as Suryakumar’s stock continues to rise.
When Harsha Bhogle posed the following question to the India captain during the post-game awards ceremony, “How do you maintain Surya’s form? Just safeguard it in the form he is in. How do you maintain it?” Rohit Sharma provided a fantastic response.
How can @surya_14kumar's dazzling form be retained? 🤔
🗣️ 🗣️ Here's what #TeamIndia captain @ImRo45 said. #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/Gkbaej2dHc
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 2, 2022
“Just thinking not to play him anymore. Just play him on 23rd. But no (seriously), the kind of form he is in… he is somebody who wants to play the game, who wants to keep going out there and keep doing well. That is what keeps him happy and we want to keep him happy,” he said after India defeated South Africa by 16 runs to take the series with an unassailable 2-1 lead.
“We were batting first, so it was very clear that I had to keep the tempo that was set by Rahul and Rohit and I just went and enjoyed myself. He (Miller) batted beautifully and I loved it. You just have to be planning really well when you are having the practice sessions (about second-guessing the bowlers). When you are batting first, you can’t set a target and you just got to bat as deep as possible and get as many runs as possible,” Suryakumar said after the match.
