India vs England semifinal: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes Suryakumar Yadav has become the 'new Mr 360 degree' and if he fails, India will struggle to score enough runs against England in semifinal. Currently ranked as number one T20 batter in the world, Suryakumar Yadav has dazzled in his first ever appearance in T20 World Cup tournament. He played a blistering 25-balls 61-run knock against Zimbabwe on Sunday. By the virtue on this win, India ended their Super 12 stage being the table-toppers in Group 2 and will now take on England in T20 World Cup semi-final on November 10.
"Each of those innings was pretty much 360 degrees. He is the new Mr. 360 degree. There was that one shot that he hit for a six just to the left of the wicketkeeper. Then he went a little squarer in the final overs, for example, taking advantage of the angle that the bowler was trying to aim at.
"Then also the lofted extra cover drive, he has got every shot in the book. There was a straight drive as well," Gavaskar was quoted as saying on India Today.
Gavaskar feels Suryakumar is the reason India has succeeded in scoring totals they could defend.
"He is actually turning out to be the player who is taking India to totals which you can defend. The score India got was the highest T20I score at the MCG. Without his 61 not out, India would not have reached even 150," he stated.
Gavaskar said if Suryakumar fails Rahul will need to take charge.
"I think at the moment, there are two batters who are in prime form, Kohli and Suryakumar. It was also good to see KL Rahul get yet another half-century, but he has to look to get more than that for a simple reason.
"If Surya doesn't fire, then India will struggle to get 140-150. It's therefore very important for Rahul to keep going," Gavaskar added.
(With PTI Inputs)