England pacer Saqib Mahmood made an instant impact with the ball during the fourth T20I against India in Pune. The 27-year-old was included in the team in Mark Wood’s place. The young pacer justified the selection as he dismissed Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav in his first over and also bowled a maiden.
Sanju Samson got a short ball which the batter pulled straight into Brydon Carse’s hands who was fielding at the square leg region. Tilak Varma was promoted to bat at number three after his amazing run of form during the previous three matches. Varma gave the bowler the charge and saw the outside edge fly down to Jofra Archer.
The 29-year-old pacer didn’t make any mistake as Varma was out for a first-ball duck. Suryakumar Yadav came out to face the hat trick ball and made sure he negated the chance. In the final ball of the over, Yadav chipped an easy catch to Brydon Carse to be dismissed for a four-ball duck. This made Mahmood the first-ever English pacer to bowl a triple wicket maiden in T20I cricket.
Top order woes continue for India in Pune
Jos Buttler’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss paid rich dividends as the pacers rattled India’s batting. Sanju Samson was already under pressure after he failed in the first three games. This will put the 30-year-old under even more pressure ahead of the game on Sunday.
Even Suryakumar Yadav will be asked questions as he was out for a duck on Friday. The 34-year-old has come under massive criticism due to his poor run of form with the bat. Yadav though has found support from two voices who have backed the under-fire T20I skipper to come good.
Sanjay Manjrekar during his chat on Star Sports said “This has taken a lot of time; it didn't happen in just two years. He used to play for KKR, and I remember he had just two shots. Predictably, he would play the flick shot on the first ball of the innings, no matter where it landed. The growth of Suryakumar Yadav is incredible. Who would have predicted, when he was playing lower down the order for KKR, that he would go on to become the best T20I batter in the world?"
Sanjay Bangar said, “The method to this madness is proactiveness. It takes a lot of imagination, courage, and the ability to anticipate where the ball is coming from before it's even bowled-that's his hallmark”.
India’s former batting coach though said that he was shocked that Suryakumar Yadav was given the captaincy in the T20I format. “Honestly, I was shocked that he was elevated to captain because, until that point, Hardik Pandya was the captain-designate.
The way he handled that transition shows his great man-management skills. It's still early days, but he's the best fit for this young squad after the retirements of Jadeja, Kohli, and Rohit. That's a big plus can be the leader of this new generation, someone who is one among them."
/sportsinfo/media/member_avatars/image 59.png)
Follow Us/sportsinfo/media/media_files/2025/01/31/mghYKUMjP89cwxh00yh9.jpg)