IND vs SA: Suryakumar Yadav breaks Shikhar Dhawan’s record

India batter Suryakumar Yadav has added a remarkable feather to his international cap as the flamboyant right-hander surpassed Shikhar Dhawan’s record for most T20I runs in a calendar year for the Indian cricket team.

Shikhar had amassed 689 runs during 2018 at an impressive average of 40.52 and at an incredible strike rate of 147.22 across 18 matches.

Suryakumar required only eight runs to break the envious record ahead of the first T20I against South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram and the 31-year-old batter achieved the record in magnificent style.

He walked in to bat after South Africa’s speed merchant Anrich Nortje removed Virat Kohli with his first delivery of the game in the seventh over. Although not entirely in control of the shot, Suryakumar opened his account with a six over deep third and backed it up with another maximum using his wrists to perfection and timing the ball over deep backward square leg.

He is having a dream run in international cricket at the moment as he is currently the highest run-scorer in 2022 in the shortest format.

He has aggregated 926 runs in 31 T20Is at an average of 37.04, while striking at a blazing rate of 174.71 and has already notched up one century and seven half-centuries in the shortest format (the stats do not include his numbers from India vs South Africa’s first T20I clash in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, September 28).

Suryakumar is also known for his dynamic 360 degrees strokeplay and pulls off a wide array of jaw-dropping strokes everytime he steps on the field to bat.

After a middling season with the bat in the Indian Premier League 2021 where he could only score 317 runs across 14 games, he came back with a bang in IPL 2022 and racked up 303 runs in just eight matches at an astounding average of 43.29 and managed a strike rate of 145.67.

He has been included in India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 and will play a key role in the tournament.