On a bouncy Perth pitch where the rest of India’s batters combined to score 57 runs off 80 balls, Suryakumar scored 68 off 40. Fleming broke down the technique that allows Suryakumar to manipulate different lengths and access different areas of the field.
“He just has a really positive mindset,” Fleming said. “And he has a very open and aggressive stance which allows him to play a lot of unusual areas. So he’s sort of created a technique which bowlers are finding it hard to find the right lengths [against] because if they’re full he’ll hit all the way over cover or around; if they’re fractionally short he’ll go over third man and point.
“And anything straight, he’s very good with the short ball. So he’s developed a technique that’s very hard to find an area of weakness [in].”
“His skillset is so high that as a bowler you don’t feel like you can tie him down to certain areas. He’s got all the different shots, scores in all the different areas,” du Plessis said.
“The thing that stands out for me with him is his composure. With a guy who has got so many shots I almost never see him be frantic and feel rushed. He’s just got this calmness about him.
“He knows when to pull that trigger, go through the gears, and he just always looks calm. He’s just a fantastic T20 player to watch. He’s the perfect guy that as a youngster you look at how you go through different gears at different stages of the game.”