If a rulebook on cricketing conventions ever existed, you would probably find it torn to pieces and scattered across the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy.
For on Tuesday, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav ripped that manual apart and tossed it aside to mastermind a come-from-behind win against Sri Lanka in the final T20I between the two sides and sweep the series.
For three-quarters of the game or more on Tuesday, Sri Lanka was ahead of India for the first time in the series. With nine runs needed from the last two overs and an easy-striking Kusal Perera in the middle, the Lankan fans were finally singing in joy as a rare win against India seemed in sight.
But then, Suryakumar did something that defied logic at that point - a gamble which would put the casino hoppers of Sri Lanka to shame.
Despite pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Mohammed Siraj being available, Suryakumar tossed the penultimate over to Rinku Singh and then bowled the final one himself, even though the two had never bowled in a T20I before.
The element of surprise from the Indian skipper proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for a Sri Lankan middle order bereft of runs and confidence.
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It also didn’t help Sri Lanka’s cause that Rinku bowled a line-and-length unusual for international cricket and more suited to a local Sunday league. His long hops unsettled a previously unflappable Perera, who miscued a wild hoick for a return catch.
Suryakumar was a bit more conventional than his bowling partner. The 33-year-old bowled a concoction of seam-ups and off-cutters but was in no way as menacing as the fumbling Lankan batters made him out to be.
Sri Lanka managed just eight runs in the last two overs, losing four wickets. India took the game to a Super Over, where Suryakumar played the spin card again, in the form of Washington Sundar.
The off-spinner gave away two runs before bowling Sri Lanka out. India’s chase lasted exactly one delivery as a Suryakumar sweep shot burst past the short fine leg for a four.
The Indian captain’s left-field bowling choices which set up the remarkable win were a reflection of how the game had panned out until then. On Tuesday, the Pallekele surface offered a new-found fizz for the spinners. Tweakers of all kinds were a persistent wicket-taking threat throughout the game.
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It also helped Suryakumar that Khaleel had a chaotic, nearly game-losing 11-ball over, punctuated by as many as five wides. This effectively took the pace option out of the Indian captain’s consideration.
With all his lead spinners exhausting their quotas, the Indian leader’s options were further narrowed down to his part-timers. Eventually, Suryakumar’s deductive thinking worked out pretty well for India.
All-rounder Washington Sundar hailed his skipper’s thought process in the post-match press conference. “In that situation, he felt that if spinners bowled there was a stronger chance to win. He made an excellent decision based on the conditions and it did wonders for us.”
Suryakumar though undermined his death-over punt and emphasised the temperament shown by his ward in the low-scoring match.
“More than the last over, I feel when we were around 30 for 4 and 48 for 5, how the boys showed character in the middle and took the game away from them. I felt 140 was a par score on that track. When we were going in I told them I had seen such games and if we put our heart in, we can pull it off,” said Suryakumar at the post-match presentation ceremony.
The win on Tuesday sealed a clean sweep for Suryakumar in his debut series as the full-time Indian T20I captain. This was also his seventh win in nine games while leading India in the format.
By adding a taste of maverick, street-smart thinking to an already-stacked Indian T20 unit, the Suryakumar era promises to be an eventful one.
The last Indian skipper to make a risky bowling choice in the death overs of a match against a South Asian side and come out covered in glory went on to have quite a successful captaincy career. Suryakumar wouldn’t quite mind following in those footsteps.
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