SKY’s knock puts pressure on opposition bowlers: Kumble

Former cricketer Anil Kumble discussed India batter Suryakumar Yadav’s impressive performance against Afghanistan in the Super Eights match of the T20 World Cup 2024, highlighting how it pressured the opposition bowlers.

Suryakumar scored 53 runs off 28 balls at a strike rate of 189.29 in the first inning, hitting 5 fours and 3 sixes. His innings ended in the 17th over when Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed him.

In an exclusive interview on ESPNCricinfo’s TimeOut show, Kumble emphasized the significance of Suryakumar’s performance for India, particularly at the number four batting position.

“It gives India the kind of power and stroke play that you need at someone who’s batting at number four. It certainly puts pressure on the opposition bowlers because it’s not easy to control a Surya in this kind of form. You don’t know where to bowl; wherever you bowl, the fielders find it hard to stop him from scoring boundaries. So yeah, it certainly augurs well. First game of the Super 8s and you have Surya coming back into this kind of form,” Kumble stated.