"The pitches on which he has scored runs haven't been that easy" - Aakash Chopra lauds Suryakumar Yadav's knock in IND vs ENG 2024 T20 WC semi-final

Aakash Chopra has lauded Suryakumar Yadav for playing a crucial knock in India's 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final win against England. The middle-order batter scored 47 off 36 with the help of four fours and two sixes.

India set England a 172-run target after being asked to bat first in Providence, Guyana, on Thursday, June 27. The Men in Blue then bowled the last edition's champions out for 103 to register a comprehensive 68-run win and book their berth in the final against South Africa in Barbados on Saturday, June 29.

While praising Rohit Sharma for scoring a match-defining half-century in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra also appreciated Suryakumar for adding crucial runs with the Indian skipper and delivering the goods consistently on tough pitches in the last few games.

"Suryakumar Yadav also actually played a good knock. It was an important knock. He scooped (Chris) Jordan for a six and also played spin well. He didn't get to his fifty but his knock was also good. Mumbai and India's Rohit Sharma was there at one end and Suryakumar Yadav is his partner in the franchise and here. Both of them batted extremely well together and took the Indian team to a safe position," he said (4:20).

"Suryakumar Yadav did not start well (in the tournament). He was struggling. He got out against Pakistan and got trolled. However, after that, he scored fifties in two matches, important runs in this match, and scored runs in the last match as well. So he has been consistently now scoring runs. The pitches on which he has scored runs haven't been that easy," Chopra added.

Suryakumar and Rohit (57 off 39) stitched together a 73-run third-wicket partnership after India were reduced to 40/2. SKY, as he's fondly called, is India's second-highest run-scorer in the 2024 T20 World Cup, with his 196 runs only behind the captain's 248.

---

"The back-to-back sixes he hit against Chris Jordan suddenly made us reach an above-par score" - Aakash Chopra on Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya smashed 23 off 13. [P/C: BCCI]

Aakash Chopra also praised Hardik Pandya for striking a couple of lusty blows.

"There was a slight change in the batting order as well. Hardik Pandya was sent slightly up the order and he scored extremely important 23 runs off 13 balls. The back-to-back sixes he hit against Chris Jordan suddenly made us reach an above-par score. I was thinking 145-150 would be a par score," he said (5:55).

While observing that Shivam Dube failed again, the reputed commentator added that Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel played crucial cameos.

"Shivam Dube - first-ball duck. This World Cup hasn't been good for Dube at all. This is a problem but I think India don't want to address that. Jaddu was sent up the order and he scored 17 runs off nine balls.

"I was slightly surprised why he was sent early but he was sent and he did a good job as well. Axar Patel also scored 10 runs off six balls. He too hit a six," Chopra elaborated.

Dube was caught behind for a golden duck off Chris Jordan after being sent below Jadeja. The latter scored an unbeaten 17 off nine with the help of two fours, with Axar smashing a six in his six-ball 10.