India's Suryakumar happy to temper aggression on slow tracks

Suryakumar Yadav has proved time and again the kind of havoc he can wreak with the bat but India's lynchpin believes being able to control that aggression is equally important on the slow pitches in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

The group stage of the 20-team tournament, especially its US leg, proved a low-scoring affair with no batter managing to score a hundred.

Suryakumar needed 49 balls for his fifty against the United States, which is slow by the high standards of the world's top ranked T20 batter.

While team totals are expected to rise from the Super Eight stage onward with the tournament shifting completely to the Caribbean, Suryakumar said adaptability was as important as aggression for him.

"If you have been the world's number one batsman for the past two years, you should know how to bat according to different conditions," Suryakumar said ahead of Thursday's Group 1 match against Afghanistan.

"I try to do that if the wicket is difficult and there is no opportunity (to score freely)."

T20 is considered a batter-friendly format but only three teams touched the 200-mark in the group stage of the tournament.

"It's difficult to generate that force when there's no pace on the wicket and when someone has read your game nicely," Suryakumar said.

"So, at that time, you have to be very smart in how you want to extend your innings."

West Indies amassed 218-5 against Afghanistan in the final group match at Gros Islet suggesting scoring runs would be easier on the Caribbean wickets.

"The practice wicket here is much better from what we saw in the USA," Suryakumar said.

"It's a little spicy, but much better."

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Caption: Cricket - Third T20 International - South Africa v India - Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa - December 14, 2023 India's Suryakumar Yadav celebrates after reaching his century REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo