
India completed a 3-0 T20I series sweep against Sri Lanka with a thrilling Super Over win in their final match on Tuesday. Sri Lanka looked comfortable in the run chase but Surya Kumar’s brilliant decision to use Rinku Singh as a bowler in the 19th over and bowl the last over of the match himself proved to be a brilliant one. From 110/1, Sri Lanka lost wickets in droves as they could only manage 137/8 in 20 overs. In the Super Over, the hosts were bowled out again as India marched to a big win. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif was impressed with Surya Kumar’s captaincy and praised his bowling changes on social media.
“Brother Rohit Sharma’s Chela Hai Surya.. 19th over Ranko, 20th over himself won SKY and the game. What else is needed to be a great leader?” He posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Bhai Rohit Sharma’s Chela Hai Surya.. 19th over Ranko, 20th over Khud SKY and wins the game. What else does it take to be a great leader?
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) 30 July 2024
With Sri Lanka needing nine runs to win from 12 balls, India called on Rinku Singh to bring their part-time off-spin bowling into action. Rinko, who bowled for the first time in T20Is, conceded just three runs while taking two wickets in the brilliant 19th over. There was more out-of-the-box thinking in store as skipper Surya Kumar Yadav brought himself to bowl the last over, taking two wickets to defend five runs and send the game into a super over, where India sealed the 3 . -0 victory.
“I have a lot of wickets in domestic cricket. Not so, and I have one wicket in ODIs too. I was informed by Surya to be ready to bowl in the series. Although I did not bowl in the run-up to the game, Surya Bhai asked me to continue my bowling practice and asked me to do so during the warm-up.
“When the game was going on, I didn’t expect to be asked to bowl, because the situation was absolutely dire. Then he asked me to swing the arm and once I started bowling, It was God’s plan – two wickets,” Rinko said in a video posted by BCCI on his ‘X’ account.
Off-spinner Washington Sundar, who starred with an all-round performance (25 runs, 2-23) and restricted Sri Lanka to just two runs in the super over, was also in awe of Surya Kumar’s inventiveness.
“It was a very good decision by Suriya to bring in Rinku first (in the 19th over). Rinko makes things very difficult for us when he bowls in the nets and now he has shown that in this game as well.”
“For Suriya to put himself in a very difficult situation, and almost win the game for the team, was amazing. Honestly, I was just focusing on what I wanted to do against these batsmen.”
“It was a great opportunity for me, especially to win a game for my country. I don’t know how many people get the chance to do that from time to time,” he said.
(With IANS input)
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