IND vs WI 2022: “They showed intent at the top” - Danish Kaneria on Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav’s blazing opening stand in 4th T20I

Former Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria praised Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav for their aggressive opening stand in the fourth T20I against West Indies on Saturday (August 6). Kaneria pointed out that batting first on the Lauderhill surface wasn’t easy because of the rain and damp conditions.

Bad weather delayed the start of the fourth T20I. West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran then won the toss and asked India to bat first, hoping his bowlers would exploit the dampness on the surface. However, Rohit (33 off 16) and Suryakumar (24 off 14) added 53 in 4.4 overs to get the Men in Blue off to a terrific start.

Kaneria was highly impressed by India’s opening stand. Sharing his thoughts on the same, he said on his YouTube channel:

“Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav got India off to a very good start. Rohit played some very good strokes until he got out to Akeal Hosein, looking to play an inside out stroke.”

Complimenting the Indian openers for overcoming a tough phase by counter-attacking the West Indies bowlers, the former Pakistan cricketer added:

“The wicket is on the slightly slower side in Lauderhill. Also, the ball doesn’t come at the same pace every time. But Rohit and Suryakumar handled things really well. They showed intent at the top. It wasn’t easy as, because of the rain, there was some dampness on the wicket. But as the day progressed, the wicket got better.”

While Rohit’s innings ended when he was cleaned up by Hosein, Suryakumar perished lbw to Alzarri Joseph, shuffling too far across his stumps.

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“You cannot stop watching him” - Danish Kaneria on Sanju Samson

After the openers got the team off to a whirlwind start, Rishabh Pant (44 off 31) and Sanju Samson (30* off 23) also chipped in with handy knocks. Praising the latter, Kaneria said:

“Sanju Samson came into the Indian team instead of Shreyas Iyer for the fourth T20I. He is such a stylish player. You cannot stop watching him because he bats so beautifully. Even Rahul Dravid is highly impressed by Samson’s stylish batting. He has class and confidence. His 23-ball 30* was crucial for Team India in the match.”

Apart from Pant and Samson, Axar Patel (20* off eight) also shone with the bat as India posted 191 for five. The bowlers then combined to bundle out West Indies for 132 in 19.1 overs.