New Zealand vs India | All of us want to bat like Suryakumar Yadav, he is so calm: Ishan Kishan

India tour of New Zealand 2022: Young opener Ishan Kishan said everyone in the team is hoping to bat with as much clarity and confidence as Suryakumar Yadav. The senior campaigner hit a blistering 111 not out in just 51 balls in the 2nd T20I in Mount Maunganui.

All of us want to bat like Suryakumar Yadav, says India opener Ishan Kishan (AP Photo)

By India Today Web Desk: Young opener Ishan Kishan said on Tuesday that Suryakumar Yadav is an inspiration for the rest of his teammates and most of them want to bat with a clear mind and fearlessness like the World No.1 T20I batter. Huge praise for Suryakumar from his Mumbai Indians teammate came in the lead-up to the 3rd and final T20I between India and New Zealand from Napier.

Suryakumar Yadav is arguably the best T20I batter going around and the senior campaigner was at his free-flowing best against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. Suryakumar became only the second Indian batter after Rohit Sharma in 2018 to hit two hundreds in T20Is in a calendar year as he pummeled 111 not out in just 51 deliveries on a difficult batting pitch in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

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The knock, which was an exhibition of his envious range and 360-degree approach, is being hailed as one of the best T20I knocks as Suryakumar took down a well-oiled New Zealand bowling attack with ease. He manipulated the field wonderfully well, hitting spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner inside-out and using the pace of Lockie Ferguson to ruin the figures of the express fast bowler.

Messages of praise poured in for Suryakumar with Virat Kohli likening his knock to a “video game” while legendary Sachin Tendulkar was also left awestruck by the exhibition of big-hitting.

Speaking to Prime Video, Ishan Kishan talked u Suryakumar’s work ethic and energy, saying youngsters have a lot to learn from the in-form batter, who has scored more than 1,150 runs in 30 T20Is in 2022.

“I badly wanted to be at the non-striker’s end, he makes batting look so easy. All of us want to bat like him. He is so calm every time, I think everything is going according to plan for him,” Ishan said.

“Off the field, in the last few years I played with him, he is very professional with his hydration and sleeping pattern and diet. We, youngsters, can learn a lot from him and how he is batting, and his energy and work ethic are always hundred percent,” he added.

Suryakumar Yadav is likely to finish the year as No. 1 after having become the first Indian to score more than 1000 runs in the shortest format of the game.

Notably, the 2nd T20I was also Ishan Kishan’s comeback match as the left-handed opener hit a 31-ball 36 after returning to the T20I side following the T20 World Cup snub. Ishan batted with his new opening partner Rishabh Pant in the 2nd T20I and both left-handers retained their place for the series finale.