Cuttack, Dec 9 (IANS) India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav was pleased with the team’s performance against South Africa in the first T20I that concluded here at the Barabati Stadium on Tuesday and said that the team was having a “great run” in the format heading into the T20 World Cup 2026.

Put to bat first, India posted 175/6 on board, riding on Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 59, before the bowlers took charge. The pacers and spinners contributed equally towards the victory as the hosts dished out the visitors for a paltry 74, their lowest-ever T20I total.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony after the game, Suryakumar praised the batters’ efforts saying that he had not expected the team to reach a 175-run total at the time when they had been reeling at 48-3 in 6.3 overs.

“At 48 for 3, and then from there getting to 175… the way Hardik batted, Axar batted, Tilak batted, and in the end Jitesh coming in, chipping in and doing his role, I think it was very important. At first, we thought we’d get to 160, but then 175 was unbelievable. With 7–8 batters, there will be days when 2–3 batters won’t have their day, but then the other 4 batters will cover it up and they did cover it up today. Maybe in the next game you’ll see someone else covering it up. That’s how T20 cricket goes, and that’s how we want everyone to play. We want everyone to be fearless and enjoy their batting. India is having a great run,” the skipper said after the match.

He was impressed with how Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah started the proceedings for India in the second innings and also reserved praise for Pandya, who struck on the very first delivery that he bowled in the game. While Arshdeep and Bumrah finished with two wickets apiece, Pandya added one scalp to his kitty after scoring a game-turning 59*.

“I think Arshdeep and Bumrah were the perfect bowlers to bowl at the start. The way they were bowling when they won the toss and bowled first, the way the new ball was being bowled by them, I think Arshdeep and Bumrah were the better option. But then Hardik coming in later on, coming back from injury, it was important to take care of him as well. And the way he bowled, I’m very happy with it. I mean, batting first, 48 for 3 and then scoring about 90–91 runs from overs 7 to 15, and then finishing with 40–44 runs in the last five overs to get to 175… I think it was really, really commendable. The way we bowled, the amount of options we had, I think 175 was quite decent,” he added.

–IANS

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