Suryakumar Yadav needs some time to fully grasp the excitement of being the captain for India. However, when he’s on the field batting, he prefers to leave the responsibilities of leadership behind in the dressing room. Surya marked his debut as India’s captain with a two-wicket win against Australia in the first T20 International in Vishakhapatnam. He also played a key role in the successful chase, scoring an impressive 80 runs off 42 balls.

“I think it’s a proud moment, whenever you play cricket, you think of representing India, it will take some time to sink in but very proud,” Surya said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“I left the (captaincy) luggage in the dressing room. I just tried to enjoy my batting, whether I am batting 10 or 40 balls,” said Surya when asked how to compartmentalise batting and leadership.

In only his sixth T20 International, Rinku Singh scored an unbeaten 22 runs off 14 balls and successfully closed out the game just as it was getting a bit challenging.

“The way the boys kept their nerve was great to see. It was a tailor-made situation for Rinku. His composure relaxed me also,” Surya said.

He also made sure to highlight Mukesh Kumar’s last over in the Australian innings, where the Bengal bowler consistently delivered precise yorkers and conceded only five runs.

“It was huge,” the skipper said about Mukesh.

“The three fast bowlers did an incredible job pulling us back into the game after 16 overs. It’s a remarkable achievement,” said Surya. He admitted that chasing might have been challenging without dew, but to his surprise, it wasn’t.

“I expected a bit of dew, but it didn’t happen. The ground isn’t large, and I knew batting would become easier. I thought the opposition might reach 230-235, but our bowlers performed really well,” expressed the satisfied captain. Surya and Ishan Kishan teamed up at 22 for two, drawing on their experience from numerous similar situations with the Mumbai Indians.

“We just wanted to be positive. Just enjoy and express ourselves. I told Kishan one thing, just keep batting, don’t think of the target. After 10 overs, it was a tailor-made situation. 100 off 60 balls happens every second day in IPL,” he said.