It turns out summoning Rinku Singh to bowl the 19th over out of nowhere and then introducing himself for the final over when Mohammed Siraj had one up his sleeves were not the only surprises India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav pulled off during the third and final T20I against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. Surya’s bag of tricks continued to catch not only Sri Lanka but also some of his teammates off-guard. India all-rounder Washington Sundar revealed he had no idea that he was going to bowl the Super Over.
Chasing 138, Sri Lanka were cruising towards a comfortable win when they needed 9 runs from the last two overs with six wickets in hand, but Suryakumar introduced Rinku Singh in the penultimate over who returned 1–0–3–2, and brought himself on in the final over to take a couple of more wickets and stun Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka finished with 137/8 and the match went into a Super Over.
As India batted first in the match, it was Sri Lanka’s turn to start the proceedings in the Super Over. Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera walked out to bat for the hosts. Surya kept his choice of bowler under wraps till the very last moment.
Sundar, who made an invaluable 25 with the bat and took two wickets with the ball, said he was surprised to be asked to bowl the Super Over and was pleased that he was able to pull it off for his country. “Honestly, I had no idea that I was going to bowl, but after the batsmen walked out to bat, Surya just turned behind (to look), and he said, ‘Washy, you are on’,” said the off-spinning all-rounder.
Sundar removed Perera and Pathum Nissanka. Both of them were caught in the deep trying to go for a big hit. India got a target of three, which was knocked off in one ball by Suryakumar, who hit the first ball of Maheesh Theekshana for a boundary to ensure a whitewash.
Sundar recalled. “I was very happy to be honest when captain wants you to bowl in tough situations, especially in Super Over, I thought it was a great opportunity for me to step up and win the game for my country and thank God things went well,” he added.
‘Surya kept telling us we’re one wicket away’: Sundar
Washington was all praise for Surya’s leadership skills.
“Honestly, it’s amazing of him, amazing of his leadership skills to be honest because (with) 12 balls (left and) 9 (runs) to win and for him to bring Rinku (on), especially when Kushal Perera is batting, and Rinku got him out and Surya (then) himself came in the last over and won the game for us,” Sundar said. “We all know he has a big heart when he goes out there to bat but also he has a big heart in terms of leadership as well. All the credits to him and (it was) amazing of him.”
Sundar said it was Suryakumar who kept on insisting that India must take wickets in the middle overs to maintain pressure on Sri Lanka, even though the hosts remained in command during the run chase.
“Surya kept telling us that one or two wickets in between game would definitely change and obviously in these kind of games, low scoring games, even run-a-ball would put a lot of pressure on the batsmen because they need to get the job done especially when the wicket has something for the bowler,” he said.
“He kept saying that (with) one or two wickets in the middle, especially in the middle overs between 11 to 15, (we) will definitely be in the game and exactly that’s what happened.
“I hope the audience enjoyed the game because you won’t see such games every now and then but to be a part of this kind of a game and to be a part of this game honestly feels great,” he added.