T20 World Cup: Want to be a consistent match-winner for India, says Suryakumar Yadav

The new World No. 1 T20I batsman Suryakumar Yadav has said he is aiming to be a consistent match-winner for Team India.

Following two consecutive half-centuries in the ongoing T20 World Cup, Surya climbed to the top of the ICC rankings for T20I batsmen. While he became the 23rd batsman to be World No. 1 in T20Is, he was only the second Indian player to achieve the feat after Virat Kohli.

In a recent interview, Surya revealed that he has never played a bowler in his name and reputation but whenever he goes inside to bat, he plays to the merit of the ball.

"To win as many games and to give as many performances for Team India whenever I get the opportunity. I have never played the name of a bowler. Whenever I go inside and bat, I play the ball. But at the same time, when I practice in the nets, I keep in mind all what shots I need to play against a particular bowler," Suryakumar said in the ICC Review.

Surya replaced Pakistan's out-of-form Mohammad Rizwan at the top of the ICC T20I rankings. This is certainly a fine moment for Surya, considering he had not played for India until March of last year.

Since making his T20I debut for India during their home series against England, Surya has amassed 1,209 runs in 38 T20Is, including a century and 11 fifties, at a strike-rate of 177.27 and an average of a little over 40.

The 32-year-old Surya is also the current leading run-scorer in the T20Is in 2022. The Indian batsman has scored 965 runs in 27 games at an average of 41.95 and strike-rate of 183.80, scoring a century and eight half-centuries.

Surya scored an unbeaten 51 off 25 deliveries in India's 56-run victory over Netherlands in the Super 12s of the T20 World Cup 2022. He has had quite a few partnerships with Kohli in recent times and the Mumbai batsman has admitted that he enjoys batting with the former Indian skipper.

"I was just trying to express myself when I went in to bat. The situation was very simple, I just had to up the tempo at that time. I took one ball today (to get going), but the message was loud and clear. We had to get about 8-10 an over and get a total that our bowlers could defend easily. Very happy with the way things went.

"Really enjoying batting with him (Kohli), the thoughts are very clear when we both are batting. If I get few boundaries earlier then our partnership needs to be stretched and that's what we are doing," said Surya after receiving the Player of the Match award.

With 164 runs in four games, Surya is placed eighth in the chart of most runs in the ongoing T20 World Cup Down Under. Kohli, meanwhile, is the leading scorer with 220 runs.

With six points from four games, India are at the top of Group 2 in T20 World Cup's Super 12s. They are scheduled to take on Zimbabwe in their final group game on Sunday at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). A win in the game would seal India's place in the semi-final.

Last year, India failed to make it to the last-four of the T20 World Cup, which was held in the UAE.