T20 WORLD CUP, 2022

Suryakumar - The ideal T20 antithesis to Kohli

Suryakumar and Kohli - Two maverick batters, two diverse career paths, two distinct batting T20I styles, one partnership
Suryakumar and Kohli - Two maverick batters, two diverse career paths, two distinct batting T20I styles, one partnership ©Getty

Two maverick batters, two diverse career paths, two distinct batting T20I styles, one partnership. Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli have batted together only 12 times in T20Is. On Thursday, against a bright-eyed Dutch side, they put on a fourth-wicket stand of 95* from just 48 deliveries, the fourth time they've added 95 or more in the last three months.

When he was done propelling India to 179 and beyond Netherlands' reach with a 25-ball 51* on a two-paced SCG surface, Suryakumar fronted up to the media and said he was enjoying batting with Kohli. The senior partner wasn't asked, but on evidence of his multiple bat-punch exultation from the non-striker's end, a pair of side hugs and the unbridled laughter at the end of the partnership, it can be assumed with some degree of certainty that the feeling is mutual.

To watch Suryakumar and Kohli bat together is to witness the coming together of two different schools of T20 batting. One puts a price on his wicket, works up through the gears to reach a crescendo. The other starts high and then gets even higher. The dichotomy is there to be seen in their training too. When Kohli makes a mistake, he goes through the process again to ensure it's weeded out of the system. Suryakumar says if he gets out during a scenario session, when he's simulating match pressure, he comes out of the net and doesn't bat again. That way he has clarity in his plans, the shots available to him and understands the consequences of his decision.

The No.4 is a tricky position and demands versatility. You could be dragged out early on a spicy track like at the MCG on Sunday or you could walk out after a slow start on a slow pitch and kick on right away like today at the SCG. Alternatively, you could come out after a big partnership on a flat surface and be tasked with ensuring the scoring rate doesn't dip. But where the No.4 was a problem for India in ODIs until recently, it is a solution in T20Is. Suryakumar has distilled all of the position's demands down to a simple maxim: set the tempo if the progress is slow. And if not, ensure the set tempo is maintained.

 Suryakumar has distilled all of No.4 position's demands down to a simple maxim: set the tempo if the progress is slow. And if not, ensure the set tempo is maintained.
Suryakumar has distilled all of No.4 position's demands down to a simple maxim: set the tempo if the progress is slow. And if not, ensure the set tempo is maintained. ©Getty

It requires a freakish level of ability to do what Suryakumar does. He strikes at 186.58 against pace and 164.10 against spin. So it doesn't matter which type of bowler is operating in the middle at his entry point. He scores at a rate of 170.49 in the middle overs and then puts even the likes of Andre Russell to shade with a death-overs strike-rate of 243.43. With a cut-off of 100 balls in the middle overs and 50 balls at the death, those are the best numbers across the two respective phases among full member teams since 2021.

All of which bodes well for Kohli batting alongside Suryakumar because India's No.4 does all of the above without so much as batting an eyelid upon arriving at the crease. Sample the four big partnerships the pair have had in the last few months: 98* off 42 vs Hong Kong in Dubai, 104 off 62 vs Australia in Hyderabad, 102 off 42 vs South Africa in Guwahati and 95* off 48 today. Kohli was on 33 off 28, 6 off 4, 2 off 4 and 19 off 21 (today) respectively when Suryakumar walked out to join him.

Off the third ball he faced, Suryakumar walked across his stumps and hit a ball outside off-stump behind square on the legside for four. Where Kohli didn't hit a boundary in the first 21 balls he faced, after 12 balls Suryakumar had raced away to 26 with five fours. In Dubai, he had 26 off 10 with four fours and a six. It was 35 off 13 in Guwahati with four fours and two sixes and 16 off 10 in Hyderabad. This fast-starting ability not only deflects the run-rate pressure off Kohli for the moment, it allows India's anchor-in-chief to work his way to the death overs where he strikes at 204, not exactly in the Suryakumar stratosphere but not far off either.

It's a nice fit for Kohli, who's had his best T20 numbers tucked in partnerships with Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers at Royal Challengers Bangalore: a boundary hitter ahead of him and a fast-starter below him. Suryakumar, in his current form, is both. While Kohli has bought into the fast-scoring new blueprint of India's T20I batting, the conditions in Australia so far have not necessitated a full-blown blast-off from both ends, allowing him to revert to his brand of percentage T20 cricket which has a place in this part of the world. Against a stronger opposition and under different conditions, Kohli will have to tweak his own approach to suit the demands, which, on the evidence of his form, he should be capable of.

Through the two games of this World Cup, Kohli has remained the fulcrum of India's batting; the situation man who has held it together through top-order collapses and Powerplay wobbles and Suryakumar being Suryakumar behind him will allow Kohli to be Kohli going forward.

With stats inputs from Deepu Narayanan

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