Watch: Suryakumar Yadav’s 50 guides India to strong finish in T20 World Cup warmup against Australia – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Suryakumar Yadav has been giving bowlers a tough time in what has been a superb year so far for the Indian batter, and the Australian attack was no exception in the T20 World Cup warmup match on Monday.

Yadav carried on from where opener KL Rahul left off, steering the Men in Blue through the middle overs of the innings after Australia skipper Aaron Finch invited them to bat in the warm-up match at the Gabba in Brisbane.

SKY, as he is popularly referred to, collected six fours and a maximum, bringing up his half-century in 32 deliveries in the final over of the Indian innings before departing the very next ball in a rather comical fashion, tamely chipping a slower full toss back to Kane Richardson for a simple return catch off.

Yadav’s knock helped bring the inaugural world champions back on their feet after India hit a roadblock following a confident start from Rahul, the other Indian batter to hit a half-century in the game with a 33-ball 57. Australia fought back after leaking runs aplenty in the powerplay, reducing India to 127/4 with the dismissal of Hardik Pandya and boosting their chances of restricting India to a score of 160-170.

Yadav’s late flourish however, ensured India would go past the 180-run mark to stay in the hunt for a win on what is a very good batting surface in Brisbane.

India face New Zealand on Wednesday in their second and final warmup game before taking on Pakistan in their opening clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.