Mumbai, Feb 8 (PTI) The calm confidence that India captain Suryakumar Yadav displays in pressure situations, reminds USA spinner Harmeet Singh of the poise with which the legendary MS Dhoni played his cricket.
Suryakumar channelised his experience in the T20 World Cup opener between India and USA here on Saturday to lift the hosts out of the woods, with his 49-ball 84 not out proving the difference between the two teams.
“Of course, we used to imagine all that but success came late for him. He was always… I think he has got the poise now which MS Dhoni also had later in his career,” Harmeet told reporters after the match when asked if he and Suryakumar had imagined the Indian skipper’s career would pan out this way.
“The flair that he had as a stroke-player, he played a sensible innings and he finished the game and played a proper knock.” “The maturity which (players like) Virat (Kohli) have, I played a matured knock and that is what happens with experience and (with) the kind of job he has been given. He is doing a great job,” he added.
Harmeet himself enjoyed a happy homecoming on a personal note as he returned impressive figures of 4-0-26-2 after accounting for Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel.
“Firstly it was very emotional, but then it’s not just my story. It’s the whole team’s story, everybody has had that journey, everybody has come from various places, backgrounds and cultures and their ups and downs,” he said.
“The (bottom) line is that cricket brings us together and it’s a good thing that the tournament was announced a few months earlier so I could get my emotions together,” Harmeet added.
The 33-year-old said USA missed a couple of chances which allowed India to run away with the match.
“Had we not misfielded a couple of times, it (India’s innings) could have been finished at (around) 120, it would have helped the team and produced more chances. All in all, I am happy with the performance, but gutted that we could not finish the game,” he said.
He also played an active role in egging on others, especially encouraging Shadley van Schalkwyk to bowl short and slower balls.
“I take a lot of responsibility in bowling, I have some experience as well and I was trying to engage more because in this situation with a big crowd, anybody can feel lonely or under the pump,” he said.
“But when a teammate comes around and says ‘this was the right delivery’, it always helps and that’s what I was trying to do.” “It’s cricket, anything can happen with anyone. Abhishek Sharma fell for a zero today. But batters don’t have to face the humiliation as much as the bowlers have to,” Harmeet said. PTI DDV DDV AH AH
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