“A win is a win,” declared Suryakumar Yadav after India’s 72-run victory over Zimbabwe in the crunch Super Eight game on Thursday.
One could sense the element of relief in such an observation, given the pressure situation India, co-hosts of the T20 World Cup, found themselves in.
While the India batters had an excellent outing, the bowlers found it a bit rough with Brian Bennett hammering them in his innings of 97 not out off 59 balls.
Surya agreed that his bowlers could have done better. “We wanted to leave everything behind, the last game, the group stage. There were contributions from all the batters and that was heartening to see. We could have been more clinical with the ball, but a win is a win... We could have been smarter (with the ball). When we are in such situations, we need to be courageous,” the skipper said.
The job isn’t over though. India need to cross the West Indies hurdle at Eden Gardens on Sunday to secure a berth
in the semi-finals.
“We need to tighten our screws ahead of the West Indies game,” Surya said.
The plans for the next match? “When we reach Kolkata, we will think of the plans,” the captain said.
Hardik Pandya, the Player of the Match for his innings of 50 not out off 23 balls, revealed how he tweaked his approach a bit to find success.
“Pretty happy... It sounds like a 23-ball fifty, but I had to reassess. I was trying too hard, I was trying to hit the ball too hard. Then I realised I could time the ball as well. So I did that,” the all-rounder said.
He also enjoyed his bowling, starting off the proceedings along with Arshdeep Singh. “I like bowling with the new ball. I can bowl the inswing and outswing.”
Hardik bowled three overs in the game. Not wanting to miss out on the fourth, he completed his task on the practice pitch after the game.
