Moments after Suryakumar Yadav helped India avoid an almighty upset against T20 World Cup 2024 co-hosts USA with a match-winning half-century which was nowhere near the Mumbaikar’s typical 360-degree knocks, his captain Rohit Sharma was impressed with Yadav’s change in tactics on a tricky Nassau County International Cricket Stadium pitch on Wednesday.

Yadav’s unbeaten 49-ball 50 bailed the world’s top-ranked T20I side out from a precarious 10/2 chasing 111, with star openers Virat Kohli (0) and Rohit Sharma (3) both dismissed early by Saurabh Netravalkar.

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Rishabh Pant’s 18 from 20 balls helped lay the platform, with Shivam Dube (31 not out) playing a good hand to help SKY seal the win with 10 balls to spare and ensured India’s smooth sailing into the Super Eight stage.

Impressed with Suryakumar’s knock on a low-scoring surface, Rohit said, “He showed he’s got a different game as well, that is what you expect from experienced players. To come out and bat differently if the situation demands, that is what Surya did. The partnership (67-run stand) with (Shivam) Dube was very important for us. In the end, to take us home was a great effort.”

“We knew it was going to be a tough task scoring those many runs (111), but credit to us. At the end, we held our nerves, got that partnership as well. We lost wickets upfront but credit to Surya and Dube to show that maturity and take the game till the end.”

Dube finished on 31 off 35, and more importantly played the perfect supporting act to SKY. While the scorecard won’t reveal his struggle to force the pace against cutters dug into the surface, Dube was on 5 off 14 balls at one point, but muscled a six off Corey Anderson in the 15th over just when USA were beginning to tighten the screws. Before that shot, India needed 44 from 35.

It led to lingering USA hopes, who were also penalised five runs for a stop clock violation – the first time such a penalty has been handed out in the game.

Meanwhile, Dube, whose spin-hitting led to his selection for the World Cup, was on Wednesday also asked to roll his arms for an over with his military medium pace. He gave away 11 runs but Rohit is happy to have his weapons ready to fire as and when the situation demands.

“I think that is something we want; we want options with us. As and when we feel like we can use them, we should be able to use them. Today, I thought we could use them, the pitch had something in it. But yeah, again, all I want is to have options moving forward,” Rohit said.

Rohit called the conditions “very tough” for batters, but showered praises on his bowling unit, particularly Arshdeep Singh, for leading the way. Arshdeep struck twice in his first over – the first of the match – and finished with 4 for 9, his career-best figures in T20Is. Hardik Pandya also stood out with two key wickets, of Aaron Jones and Anderson, with short deliveries.

“We knew bowlers had to take the lead. We knew run-scoring is difficult on this pitch. Again, all our bowlers did the job, particularly Arshdeep, the way he started off was magnificent. Playing cricket here wasn’t easy. It could’ve been anyone’s game,” the captain said.

“All three games we played, we had to stick in till the end and take the game as deep as possible. Lucky for us, we managed to pull through in all three games and (we) take a lot of confidence for a victory like this,” he added.

Rohit also hailed USA’s Indian-origin players for their performance. Saurabh Netravalkar, the left-arm seamer, was his junior in the Mumbai circuit once upon a time, while Harmeet Singh, the left-arm spinner, went to the same school as him in the Mumbai suburb of Borivali.

“Lot of these guys, we’ve played cricket together. But I’m very happy to see them, their progress in cricket. Last year, we saw them play in the MLC (Major League Cricket) as well, they’re going from strength to strength, and I can hope for nothing but the best for them. They’re hard-working guys making their mark here in US,” he said.

Despite the result, the match was another example of USA’s quality against the world’s best, and they remain in with a good chance of joining India in the Super 8. The Americans were worthy winners over Canada in the tournament opener, and pulled off the shock of the World Cup with their outstanding SuperOver victory against Pakistan last week – a match that caused shockwaves around the sporting world.

And they will guarantee a top two finish and a place in the next round should they beat Ireland in Lauderhill on Friday. Meanwhile, India remain the only unbeaten team in Group A and Rohit Sharma’s men would want the trend to continue when they take on Canada in their final group outing on June 16 in Florida.