Has SKY transcended his limits? His incredible T20I records
India defeated New Zealand by 65 runs in the 2nd T20I at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, on Sunday. Suryakumar Yadav starred with a match-winning century, his second in T20I cricket. The Indian middle-order batter seems to be unstoppable at the moment. He has been toying with the bowlers with his audacious and magical shots. Here are some of SKY's incredible records.
Second Indian with two T20I tons in a year
In Mount Maunganui, Suryakumar smashed his 2nd T20I century. SKY, the leading T20I run-scorer this year, scored an unbeaten 51-ball 111 (4s: 11, 6s: 7). Suryakumar is the second Indian after Rohit Sharma (2018) to slam two T20I tons in a calendar year. His first T20I century came earlier this year against England. SKY had become the fifth Indian batter with a T20I ton.
A record-equaling seventh PoM award
Suryakumar was adjudged the Player of the Match for his match-defining century. He won the award for the seventh time this year, now the joint-most received by a player in a calendar year with Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza.
A breakout year for Suryakumar
Suryakumar has become the second batter after Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan to complete 1,100 T20I runs in a calendar year (2022). The latter slammed a record-breaking 1,326 runs for Pakistan in 2021. SKY is the leading run-scorer in T20I cricket this year, having scored 1,151 runs at a remarkable average of 47.95. His 67 sixes are the most by a player in a calendar year.
The incredible strike rate of SKY
Suryakumar now has 14 fifty-plus scores in T20I cricket. His strike rates in each of these innings read as (starting from his first) - 183.8, 147.06, 155, 209.6, 212.7, 172.7, 261.5, 191.6, 151.5, 277.2, 204, 170, 244, and 217.6. He has an overall strike rate of 181.64 in T20I cricket, the highest by any batter in the format.
A strike rate of 255.78 in death overs
As per ESPNcricinfo, Suryakumar has an astronomical strike rate of 255.78 in the death overs (16-20) in T20I cricket. He has slammed 376 runs off just 147 balls in this phase. The tally includes 28 sixes and 36 fours. Interestingly, his strike rate in the final over of a T20I climbs to 400.00. SKY has clubbed 10 sixes in the final over.
Another monumental feat for SKY
As per Kausthub Gudipati, SKY has the most fifty-plus scores by an Indian while striking 200-plus in T20Is (7). He has beaten the likes of Rohit (3), KL Rahul (4), and Yuvraj Singh (5). Notably, all of SKY's seven fifty-plus scores came in 2022.
Other notable records of Suryakumar
Earlier this year, Suryakumar became the first-ever Indian to have slammed over 700 T20I runs in a calendar year. He surpassed the previous record held by Shikhar Dhawan (689 in 2018). Suryakumar became the first Indian to register 11 50+ scores in T20I cricket in a calendar year. Interestingly, Virat Kohli recorded seven such scores in 2016 and nine in 2022.
India's own 360-degree batter!
All these mind-numbing numbers notwithstanding, Suryakumar's art of playing the field stands out. He has all the strokes one can find in the books, rather he manufactures his esoteric versions. SKY and his stroke-making certainly transcend the batting limitations, the way legend AB de Villiers did. 2022 has seen the rise of India's own 360-degree batter, whose impact strikes harder!
