Suryakumar Yadav was in a funny mood and said that Dinesh Karthik's quickfire 46-run knock put his number 4 spot in jeopardy. Rilee Rossouw's unbeaten ton and Dwaine Pretorius' three-wicket haul helped South Africa register a 49-run win over India here at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
India took the series 2-1 - their first T20I series win over South Africa at home - but have a little pondering to do ahead of the T20 World Cup, especially with their star pacer being ruled out of the prestigious tournament. In the third and final T20I against South Africa, India lost two wickets early, and Karthik was promoted up the order to bat at No. 4 - which is Suryakumar's preferred spot. The wicketkeeper batter did a fabulous job as he played a breezy knock of 46 off 21 balls. Suryakumar is currently the highest-ranked Indian batter in the ICC T20 Rankings - 2.
"I had to take a step back and build a partnership with him. Didn't work today. DK needed some game time, and I think the way he batted, my number 4 is in trouble. I haven't thought much about it, but I am looking forward to it," Suryakumar Yadav said in a post-match presentation on Tuesday. Suryakumar has been in sublime mode over the past month and is India's most aggressive player heading into the T20 World Cup. The 32-year-old batter was adjudged as Player of the Series against South Africa for scoring a couple of quickfire half-centuries. He also revealed that he is not a stats person who gets obsessed with scores. "Not really, I didn't check the stats. But I think that was the demand of the game. My friends send these things (stats and numbers) on WhatsApp, but I don't follow it. The thought process was the same, I just wanted to enjoy," he added.
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