Suryakumar Yadav records successive golden ducks: His struggles in ODIs
Suryakumar Yadav's dismal run in ODI cricket continues as he has now recorded successive golden ducks in the format. The dasher failed to open his account in the first two ODIs against Australia. Interestingly, Mitchell Starc dismissed him on both occasions, trapping him in front of the wickets. SKY has been under the scanner in ODIs. Here we decode his struggles.
Why does this story matter?
Suryakumar has been a force to reckon with in T20I cricket, and his numbers are nothing but sensational in the format. He is even the top-ranked T20I batter at the moment. However, the right-handed batter hasn't really been able to replicate his brilliance in ODIs. With the ICC ODI World Cup taking place later this year, Suryakumar needs to turn up sooner than later.
How does SKY fare in ODIs?
SKY, who made his ODI debut in July 2021, has played 22 games in the format so far. He has accumulated 433 runs in these games at a paltry average of 25.47 (SR: 102.36). The tally includes a couple of fifties. As mentioned, his T20I numbers are way better, with 1,675 runs at 46.53 (SR: 175.76). He boasts 13 fifties and three T20I hundreds.
Horrendous run in recent times
Meanwhile, Yadav's numbers are even more disappointing in recent times. As per ESPNcricinfo, he has scored just 166 runs at 13.83 in his last 13 ODI innings (Highest: 34*). As far as his List-A numbers are concerned, he owns over 3,280 runs in 124 games, with his average being just below 35 (SR: 103-plus). He has 19 fifties and three tons in 50-over cricket.
Struggle versus in-swinging deliveries
As mentioned, Starc dismissed him in both games and that too with in-swinging balls. Such deliveries have indeed been his nemesis as he has fallen prey to left-arm pacers three times in four ODI innings now. As per Cricmetric, SKY has faced just 19 balls against these fast bowlers. This weakness can particularly trouble SKY in ODI games outside Asia.
The Shreyas Iyer factor!
Notably, SKY received chances in the ongoing series as Shreyas Iyer, India's first-choice number-four batter in ODIs, is missing out due to a back injury. Iyer has been truly sensational in ODIs, scoring 1,631 runs at 46.31 (SR: 96.51).
India are off to a poor start
Meanwhile, Australia won the toss and elected to bowl in Visakhapatnam. The decision proved to be spot-on as the Men in Blue were reduced to 49/5. Starc breathed fire with the new ball and four of the first five fallen wickets belonged to him. Notably, India are 1-0 up in the series, having clinched the series opener by five wickets.
