How to stop SKY? Behrendorff says, ‘Give the ball to someone else’
Suryakumar Yadav smashed a brilliant 80 off just 42 balls in the first T20I of the series against Australia.
Team India will return for the second T20I of the series against Australia on Sunday; the hosts had defeated Matthew Wade's men by two wickets in a thrilling finish in the series opener in Visakhapatnam. India chased down a 209-run target on the penultimate delivery, with captain Suryakumar Yadav (80 off 42 balls) producing a brilliant knock. Ahead of the second T20I, however, Australia's star pacer Jason Behrendorff insists the side will aim to "stay a step ahead" of the likes of Suryakumar, as it aims to level the scoreline in the five-match series.
In the first T20I, Behrendorff emerged as the lone Aussie bowler to come out unscathed, registering figures of 1/25 in his full quota. His performance stood out as all of the other bowlers conceded 11 or more runs-per-over during India's record run-chase. When asked what could possibly be his strategy to stop his Mumbai Indians teammate Surykaumar, Behrendorff replied in jest, "Give the ball to someone else may be."
However, Behrendorff later stated that they need to come up with better strategies against the India batters.
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"They are all pretty good players and may be try to keep them guessing, just to stay one step ahead which is hard to do at times. Maybe, do what we can in terms of change in pace, line and length," the lanky seamer said during the pre-match media conference on Saturday.
The team management's brief to Behrendorff has been simple; get the ball to jag around and get some breakthroughs in the first six overs of Powerplay.
"I have been pretty fortunate that the ball swung pretty much whenever I have played in India. So, sticking to my strength and trying to swing the ball upfront and take wickets in Powerplay, that's what I have been able to do over a period of time," the seamer explained his role.
"The main thing was to see if there's any swing upfront and that's my main strength and trying to stick to that. Line-wise, I was generally trying to be straighter than anything because you know in India it can travel to the fence quickly. In terms of variations, I try it depending upon the surface and at some places it grips more than others," he explained his thought process.
