Suryakumar Yadav astonished former India captain Sunil Gavaskar and former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar with some stunning catches and heroics on the pitch during the third T20I between India and New Zealand on February 1, 2023, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Men in Blue won the three-match T20I series 2-1, clinching their biggest-ever T20I win by a margin of runs, a 168-run triumph against the Black Caps. The visitors were taken aback as the Men in Blue dominated in every category.
“Is that action-replay now? This is fairytale stuff. Terrific ball to begin with, then another incredible grab!” One of the panel’s analysts, Sanjay Manjrekar, was the first to respond to the 32-year-on-field old’s excellence.
Incidentally, the remark came after Suryakumar Yadav dismissed Glenn Phillips with a blinder that was a carbon-copy of the catch he took to eliminate Finn Allen in the opening over. Ironically, the bowler on both occasions was Hardik Pandya, and therefore it seemed to be a full action-replay, as Sanjay Manjrekar also remarked.
To add to Manjrekar’s admiration for Suryakumar, co-commentator Sunil Gavaskar couldn’t help but commend Suryakumar’s tremendous agility and on-field prowess. He stated that Glenn Phillips’ catch seemed to be a carbon copy of Finn Allen’s dismissal.
“Exceptional catching. The length and contour of the off-stump. This is a surface with a little additional carry for the right bowlers, which is what Hardik Pandya is doing. He’s hitting the ball into the pitch, gaining that additional bounce, and timing the leap again. Once again, unbelievable. That seems to be an action-replay of the first catch, which eliminated Finn Allen. This is a large wicket “, the 73-year-old continued.
