'He has grown from strength to strength' - Rohit Sharma lavishes praises on Suryakumar Yadav

It was a memorable outing for Suryakumar Yadav on Sunday against England as he became the fifth Indian to score a century in the T20I format. Though his knock went in vain as England clinched a 17-run victory in the final T20I of the three-match series, skipper Rohit Sharma was all praises for the star in the making.

Chasing a total of 216 runs, India’s start to the chase was dismal as the top-order batters were dismissed early. Rishabh Pant lost his wicket in just the second over, and his dismissal was followed by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma walking back to the pavilion. It was Yadav who pulled India out of the misery and added the crucial runs on board to keep the hopes alive.

“I thought it was a fantastic chase although we fell short. We are proud of the fight. Surya was magnificent to watch. I have been watching him for a while now. Loves this format, has wide range of shots. He has grown from strength to strength since we got him into the squad,” Sharma said during the post-match presentation.

We have things to work on as a group: Rohit Sharma

Notably, India won the first two games with ease, as the Rohit Sharma-led side clinched a 5o-run win in the first game and followed it up with a 49-run victory in the second to seal the series. While the Men in Blue looked for a whitewash, the Jos Buttler-led English side made it difficult for India to keep up with that dream.

“They put us under pressure with their batting. A decent partnership put us on the back foot. You back yourself to get this score. We were clear in trying out guys if they can bowl 4 overs. We have things to work on as a group. Hope so. So far things are pretty good. We don’t want to sit on laurels,” Rohit added.

Having won the T20I series by 2-1, India will now look to win the three-match ODI series that begins on July 12 with the first game being scheduled at The Oval in London. The second and third games of the series will be played at Lord’s (London) and Old Trafford (Manchester) on July 14 and July 17 respectively.