India captain Suryakumar Yadav heaped praise on his batters after the tourists thumped South Africa by 135 runs to claim the four-match T20I series 3-1 in Johannesburg. 

Batting first, Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma both hit unbeaten centuries as India posted a total of 283-1 before bundling out the Proteas for 148. 

India's ultra-aggressive approach under head coach Gautam Gambhir has taken T20I cricket by storm, with the team scoring their third 250-plus score in the format on Friday - the most by any team. 

"Our plan was very clear. The last time we came here, we played the same brand of cricket as well and we wanted to continue that," said Suryakumar after the commanding victory. 

"We wanted to follow those good habits. We didn't think about the results and it happened automatically." 

Their 283-1 was also the fifth-highest total in men's T20I history and India's second-highest total after the 297-6 that they scored at home against Bangladesh only last month.

With his unbeaten 109 from 56 balls, Samson became the first batter to register three hundreds in a calendar year in T20Is, while Tilak's 120 from 47 balls was his second hundred in as many matches. 

India captain Suryakumar Yadav praised a 'selfless' Sanju Samson after his maiden T20I century helped the hosts defeat Bangladesh by 133 runs and win the series 3-0 on Saturday.

Samson's 111-run knock, which came off just 47 balls, helped India storm to 297-6 after batting first, before they restricted the tourists to 164-7 in the third match of the series in Hyderabad. 

The 29-year-old reached his century in just 40 balls to become the second fastest among India's batters to bring up a T20I ton after Rohit Sharma's 35-ball century against Sri Lanka in 2017.

"I think we've achieved a lot as a team. I had said we wanted to have selfless cricketers and want to be a selfless team and enjoy each other's performances. That camaraderie is coming off," Yadav said after the game. 
 
"Gautam Gambhir said the same thing before the series that no one is bigger than the team, no matter if you are on 49 or 99, you have to hit the ball out of the field. That's what Sanju [Samson] did today."

Samson, who hit 11 fours and eight sixes, also became the seventh India opener to score a ton and his strike rate of 236.2 was second only to Sharma among Indians when scoring a T20I ton.

He was ably supported by Yadav, who reached 75 from 35 balls before Ravi Bishnoi picked up three wickets and Mayank Yadav took two to keep Bangladesh at bay. 

A memorable evening

Sanju Samson smashed the second fastest T20I century for #TeamIndia , off just 40 deliveries

Live - https://t.co/ldfcwtHGSC #INDvBAN | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/UC7Iy1j6yY

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 12, 2024  
"We have to be flexible when it comes to batting and bowling. Bowlers have to chip in. Batters have to be flexible, and their performances were commendable," the captain added.
 
India also posted commanding wins against their opponents in the first two matches on their way to winning their 16th consecutive T20I series at home, where they are unbeaten since 2019. 

As for Bangladesh, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto indicated it will be a case of going back to the drawing board. 

"We didn't play our best cricket. We didn't execute our plans as a batting unit. For a couple of overs, we bowled well in some matches, but today we didn't bowl well," Shanto said. 
 
"We need to believe in ourselves that we can compete against any team. We need to change our home wickets and players need to take responsibility.
 
"The way [Towhid] Hridoy batted today was impressive. I liked that the seamers were trying to execute their plans. Our top order needs to improve though."

India will next be in action against New Zealand as the sides play the first of three Tests in Bengaluru from Wednesday. 

Suryakumar Yadav scored the winning runs as India confirmed a whitewash over Sri Lanka in the final game of their T20I series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. 

In a game that Sri Lanka started brightly, India ultimately proved too strong as they continued their impressive record over their opponents in this format. 

India's openers endured a difficult start to the encounter, as Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) Sanju Samson (0) and Rinku Singh (1) all fell inside the first four overs. 

Shubman Gill would top score for the Men in Blue with 39 runs from 37 deliveries as Maheesh Theekshana starred with the ball in hand, taking 3-28 as Sri Lanka restricted their opponents to 137-9. 

Kusal Mendis (43) and Kusal Perera (46) would give Sri Lanka an excellent start to their chase, losing just two wickets in the first 16 overs of the contest. 

But with time running out, India's bowlers stepped up the pressure and claimed six wickets from the final four overs. Needing just six runs from the final over, Yadav's bowling display forced a super over. 

Washington Sundar was given the responsibility to deliver, and he claimed two wickets in three balls with Sri Lanka finished the super over having scored just two. 

Yadav would waste no time in sealing the win, smashing a four from the opening ball to secure a 3-0 series win. 

Data Debrief: India continue Sri Lanka dominance

India have now won five of their last six men’s T20Is against Sri Lanka (L1), including the last four on the bounce.  

The Men in Blue have won all of their four men’s T20Is against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

Sri Lanka have now lost their last three men's T20Is at Pallekele, the second time they have done so in their history (three loses from September 2016 to September 2019). 

Gautam Gambhir's time in charge of India got off to a winning start as the T20 world champions breezed to a 43-run victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday.

After losing their opener to Zimbabwe in their first game after the World Cup, India made no mistake in Kandy as they took a 1-0 lead in this three-game series, piling misery on their hosts.

India made a strong start through openers Yashavi Jaiswal (40) and Shubman Gill (34) before Suryakumar Yadav's 58 carried them to 150 before he was dismissed.

Rishabh Pant fell just short of a half-century as he helped India's charge, though that soon stalled thanks to Matheesha Pathirana, whose impressive performance saw him finish with 4-40.

With India stopped at 213-7, Sri Lanka made a steady start, with Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis combining for 84 before the latter was caught for 45.

Two quick wickets from Axar Patel in the 15th over soon ended any hopes of Sri Lanka coming out on top, though, as Nissanka (79) and Kusal Perera (20) were both taken.

The hosts soon collapsed, losing their last seven wickets in just over four overs as they were bowled out for 170.

Data Debrief: India go from strength to strength

Gambhir could not have asked for a better performance at the start of his tenure with India, with their late performance in the field proving vital.

Just when Sri Lanka looked to be mounting a real attack to chase down the target of 214, they lost nine wickets from their final 5.2 overs to be bowled out well short of their target, with Patal and Arshdeep Singh both getting two wickets each.

The hosts' first game since their disappointing World Cup campaign did not quite go to plan, and they will be looking to bounce back on Sunday.

India reached the T20 World Cup final in style as they hammered defending champions England by 68 runs on Thursday.

In a rain-delayed semi-final clash at Guayana National Stadium, an England batting collapse, combined with lethal bowling from Kuldeep Yadav (3-19), Axar Patel (3-23) and Jasprit Bumrah (2-13) ensured tournament favourites India will face South Africa in the showpiece match on Saturday.

Captain Rohit Sharma struck 57 and Suryakumar Yadav plundered 47 as India put on 171-7 from their 20 overs.

England's chase started brightly as skipper Jos Buttler reeled off a series of fours in swift succession, yet his stand lasted just 15 deliveries.

And from losing Buttler with the 19th ball of their innings, England's top order capitulated, with Phil Salt, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran all following their captain in heading for the pavilion within seven overs.

Harry Brook offered more resistance with a spirited 25, but the damage was already done by the time he was sent packing in the 11th over.

Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid were run out in the space of three deliveries, and though Jofra Archer rallied with a pair of sixes, England's dismal day came to an end when he was pitched leg-before-wicket by Bumrah.

It marked a memorable triumph for India as they gained a measure of revenge for their 10-wicket loss to England at the same stage in 2022, and the Proteas – who thrashed Afghanistan earlier in the day – are all that stand between them and the trophy.

Data Debrief: Recent history means nothing

India had lost their last two T20 World Cup semi-finals, having batted first on each of those occasions too, but they banished those demons in emphatic fashion this time around.

England had won three of their last four such matches, having bowled first in each of those games, but that record did not continue.

Buttler's future is uncertain, though he did at least take a slice of history with him, with his knock of 23 ensuring he became the fourth England player to score 1,000 runs at the T20 World Cup (1,013).

Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah led India to a 47-run defeat of Italy at the T20 World Cup on Thursday.

India started their Super 8s campaign in style in Barbados, with Suryakumar's 28-ball 53 propelling them to 181-8 from their 20 overs.

Virat Kohli added 24, with Hardik Pandya contributing a useful 30 too, though Fazalhaq Farooqi, the tournament's leading wicket-taker, finished with impressive figures of 3-33.

Yet Farooqi was outshone by Bumrah, who was the star of India's bowling attack.

Bumrah took 3-7 as he skittled through Afghanistan's top order, reducing them to 23-3 inside five overs.

Arshdeep Singh (3-36) rounded matters off, sending Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq and Noor Ahmad packing to bowl Afghanistan all out for 134.

The victory sent India to the top of Group One, ahead of Australia's clash with Bangladesh.

Data Debrief: More history for Kohli

Kohli might have taken a backseat in this win, but his haul of 24 saw him move onto 4,066 runs in T20Is.

That makes Kohli India's record run scorer in the format, with the 35-year-old having surpassed Rohit Sharma (4,050).

India secured their place in the T20 World Cup Super 8s with a game to spare, after recovering from a slow start to see off the United States.

Suryakumar Yadav hit an unbeaten half-century as India successfully chased down their opponents' target of 111 for a seven-wicket victory - and their third win in as many Group A matches.

The tournament co-hosts also entered the contest with a perfect record from their opening two games, but endured a poor start as Arshdeep Singh claimed Shayan Jahangir and Andries Gous in the first over.

That left them at 3-2, but they managed to settle with Steven Taylor (24 from 30 balls) and Nitish Kumar (27 off 23) top-scoring as their side finished at 110-8.

However, the States made a purposeful start in the field. With the second ball, Virat Kohli was gone for a duck as Gous caught him from Saurabh Netravalkar, who also dismissed Rohit Sharma for just three.

Suryakumar (50 off 49 not out) stepped in and held the fort alongside Shivam Dube (31 off 45 not out), though India were still in danger of a potential shock, needing 35 off the final 30 balls.

Nevertheless, an untimely five-run penalty was awarded to them as the USA took longer than a minute between overs for the third time.

That swung the pendulum firmly in India's favour. Successive boundaries from Suryakumar eased the pressure as they saw out what was eventually a comfortable win.

Data Debrief: India through, but Kohli's struggles continue

It was not as comfortable as India would have hoped for but, nevertheless, they managed to get the job done, with Suryakumar leading the charge.

However, the form of Kohli will be a cause for concern. His dismissal for a golden duck means he has now scored just five runs in his nation's opening three matches.

Suryakumar Yadav scored an unbeaten century to lead Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Monday.

Yadav hit a sensational 102 not out off 51 balls with six maximums as Mumbai successfully chased a target of 174 with 16 balls to spare, lifting them off the foot of the table.

Despite a slow start to the Indians' innings in which SRH took three wickets in the first five overs, Yadav’s introduction turned things around as he put on a partnership of 143 with Tilak Varma (37 not-out).

Sunrisers had started well, with Travis Head reeling off a quick 48, but Piyush Chawla (3-33) and Hardik Pandya (3-31) limited Hyderabad to 173-8, with Anshul Kamboj claiming his maiden IPL wicket by bowling out Mayank Agarwal.

Pat Cummins finished with a flurry, knocking 35 runs from 17 balls, and the Australia captain helped SRH put the Indians on the ropes when he dismissed Rohit Sharma in the fourth over.

Yet Mumbai would lose only one more wicket as Yadav inspired them to victory that snapped a four-match losing run.

Data Debrief: Yadav star of the show

This was Yadav's first IPL hundred of the season, with his knock including 18 boundaries (12 fours, six sixes), taking him up to 334 runs so far this campaign.

He is 16th in the overall rankings, and some 108 runs behind leader Virat Kohli. 

Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma both hit fifties as India defeated the West Indies by seven wickets in the third T20I at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Tuesday.

The hosts posted 159-5 off their 20 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.

Brandon King led the way with a run-a-ball 42 while Captain Rovman Powell made a rapid 19-ball 40* including one four and three sixes.

Kuldeep Yadav took 3-28 from his four overs for India.

India’s chase started shakily with the wickets of debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill within the first five overs.

Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma then combined to put on a match-winning 87-run third wicket partnership.

Yadav led the way with a shot-filled 44-ball 83 including 10 fours and four sixes while Varma ended 49* off 37 balls.

Captain Hardik Pandya also chipped in with 20* off 15 balls as India finished 164-3 off 17.5 overs.

Alzarri Joseph took 2-25 from his four overs for the Windies.

The West Indies now have a 2-1 lead in the series heading into the final two games.

The series will now move to Florida for the fourth and fifth T20Is on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Australia are set to welcome back Travis Head for the second Test against India starting Friday, while also handing a debut to left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann.

Head, currently ranked as the fourth-best Test batsman in the world, was questionably dropped for the series opener in Nagpur despite an outstanding Australian summer.

He will come back into the side to replace Matt Renshaw after disappointing with two combined runs from his two innings in Nagpur.

Head will bat at number five, slotting in behind Steve Smith and in front of Peter Handscomb.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Scott Boland was replaced by Kuhnemann, leaving captain Pat Cummins as the only quick in the Australian team.

Kuhnemann brings a different aspect to the Australian spin attack as the only left-armer, earning his Test debut after four appearances in the One Day side.

India announced only one change to their team that ran away with a comfortable victory in the series opener, with Shreyas Iyer slotting in at number five in place of Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia XI: D Warner, U Khawaja, S Smith, M Labuschagne, T Head, P Handscomb, A Carey (wk), P Cummins (c), T Murphy, N Lyon, M Kuhnemann.

India XI: KL Rahul, R Sharma (c), C Pujara, V Kohli, S Iyer, S Bharat (wk), A Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, M Shami, M Siraj.

Hardik Pandya warned India must be at the peak of their powers to secure a T20l series win over New Zealand after a dominant ODI clean sweep.

India head into the first of three T20Is at JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Friday on the back of a 3-0 whitewash of the Black Caps in the 50-over format.

New Zealand have won just one of their past 11 completed against India in the short format, with that victory coming in the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.

The tourists are yet to win a multi-game T20I bilateral series in India and they will be without the likes of Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Tom Latham, with Mitchell Santner taking over as captain.

Pandya will lead India in the absence of Rohit Sharma, while Virat Kohli will not feature and Ruturaj Gaikwad misses out with a wrist injury.

All-rounder Pandya said: "We will try to win obviously. New Zealand is a good team both in T20Is and ODIs.

"They always challenge you. We will have to be at their best to beat them."

Shubman Gill comes into the series in the form of his life, scoring a sublime 208 in the first ODI and a century in the third match.

Gill is set to open the batting with Ishan Kishan, so Prithvi Shaw will have to bide his time.

Pandya said: "Shubman has done well and will start the series. The way he is batting and he was already in the team."

India and New Zealand were beaten semi-finalists in last year's T20 World Cup in Australia, although many of the players involved in the tournament will not be featuring this time around.

Suryakumar on top of the world

Suryakumar Yadav is another player New Zealand will be eager to see the back of before he gets set.

He was named the ICC Men's T20I Player of the Year for 2022 this week and is the top-ranked T20I batter in the world.

Suryakumar made a decisive 112 in his last T20I innings against Sri Lanka, his third century in six months in this format.

Baptism of fire for uncapped New Zealand bowlers

Uncapped duo Ben Lister and Henry Shipley are poised to make their debuts against a formidable batting line-up.

Lister will provide an alternative left-arm seam option with no Trent Boult for Santner to call upon.

Paceman Shipley will also be looking to make his mark on the T20I stage after making his ODI debut against Pakistan and facing India twice.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been named the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year, while Ben Stokes landed the Test Cricketer of the Year award.

Babar was outstanding with the bat in 2022, scoring 2,598 runs in 44 matches at an average of 54.12 and raking up eight centuries.

The prolific right-hander was the only player to reach the 2,000 landmark in the calendar year across all formats and led his side to the T20 World Cup final, which they lost against England at the MCG in November.

It was the most successful year of Babar's career, earning him the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy. Babar was also named the Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year.

Stokes also enjoyed a year that he will never forget, making a huge impact after being appointed as England Test captain.

The all-rounder could not have wished for a better start to a new era with him as skipper and Brendon McCullum head coach, turning England's fortunes around with an incredible transformation in a short space of time.

England had won only one of 17 Tests when Joe Root stepped down, but secured series wins over New Zealand and South Africa, beat India in a rearranged Test and celebrated an unprecedented 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan away from home.

Stokes led the side brilliantly as an aggressive brand of cricket paid dividends, while the all-rounder produced another match-winning innings to seal a victory over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup final.

He scored 870 runs at an average of 36.25 last year and took 26 wickets at an average of 31.19.

India run machine Suryakumar Yadav is the Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year, having scored 1,164 runs in 31 matches at an average of 46.56 and a strike-rate of 187.43.

Nat Sciver also starred for England in 2022 and was on Thursday named as the winner of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year.

All-rounder Sciver scored 1,346 runs and claimed 22 wickets from 33 international matches, starring as England were runners-up in the Women's Cricket World Cup 2022,

Sciver made a magnificent unbeaten 148 from only 121 in a defeat against Australia in the final.

Virat Kohli's 45th ODI century helped India to a comfortable 67-run victory over Sri Lanka at ACA Stadium on Tuesday.

Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, who scored a double century in India's previous ODI last year, were surprisingly dropped for the first of three one-day matches.

But India had few issues without them, as Kohli, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma led them to an unassailable 373-7.

Gill and Rohit enjoyed a little luck, surviving lbw reviews, but went on to stage a fine opening stand of 143 to put the tourists firmly on the back foot right.

Dasun Shanaka (1-22) eventually accounted for Gill in the 20th over, and an inside edge saw Rohit snaffled by Dilshan Madushanka (1-43) not long after.

But then Kohli arrived to deliver his 73rd international century in all formats.

He, too, benefited from some fortune, dropped on 52 and 81, but Kohli was otherwise in irresistible form with 13 boundaries to eventually finish on 113 off just 87 balls, finally taken by Kasun Rajitha (3-88) when a big slog fell short.

Sri Lanka were always facing an uphill struggle as they moved into bat.

Pathum Nissanka's 72 off 80 was a decent opening effort, but they needed more.

Dhananjaya de Silva (47 off 40) injected some purpose before edging a Mohammed Shami delivery behind to Rahul, and Nissanka followed in the 31st over after slicing Umran Malik (3-57) to Axar Patel at midwicket.

Skipper Shanaka offered late resistance with a tremendous unbeaten 108, finishing with two boundaries, but it was far too late to change the outcome.

India have too much for Sri Lanka

One of the key differences here was India's brilliant efficiency with the bat. All but one of their nine batsmen recorded a strike rate of over 100, and five of those scored over 25 runs.

By contrast, only three Sri Lanka batters had such a strike rate, with Shanaka and De Silva the two to surpass 25.

A bad day for Sri Lanka's bowlers

Rajitha was the only Sri Lanka bowler to claim more than one wicket, and yet even his overs proved fairly expensive as he gave up 88 runs.

Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (0-67) and Dunith Wellalage (0-65) also had particular difficulty at a ground that is, to be fair, known for being generous for scoring.

Rohit Sharma put the onus on Suryakumar Yadav to bring his T20I form across to the 50-over format ahead of India's series against Sri Lanka.

India take on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series starting at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.

It comes off the back of India beating their sub-continental rivals 2-1 in a T20I series that went down to the last match, which was decided by Suryakumar's superb unbeaten 112 from 51 deliveries.

Suryakumar is number one in the ICC T20I batting rankings, and Rohit is the only player to have scored more tons in the format than the 32-year-old.

However, Suryakumar's form in the shortest format does not guarantee him a place in India's 50-over side, especially with a World Cup looming.

"The problem happens when we start comparing different formats," Rohit told reporters.

"We have to look who has done well in ODI cricket for us, what situation they have done well in. They have been under pressure, and they have gone in, batted and scored runs.

"All those things you need to take into account before making that call.

"I do understand the form as well. Form is important, but the format is also important. The 50-over format is a different format, slightly longer than the T20 format, and the guys who have performed in ODIs will definitely get a run. We are very clear in what we want to do."

Suryakumar enjoyed a fine start to his ODI career but has tapered off, and in his past 10 matches he has averaged only 15 in the format.

He is likely to compete with Shreyas Iyer for a place in the side against Sri Lanka.

Iyer has scored 724 runs in men's ODIs since the beginning of 2022, the most by any batter in the period, while he averages 54 against Sri Lanka.

India will definitely be without star bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who has suffered a setback in his recovery from a back injury.

History on India's side

India have won five of their last six ODIs against Sri Lanka, although their only loss during this period came in the sides' most recent encounter on July 2021.

Sri Lanka have lost 93 times to India in the format, with New Zealand the only side to have lost more times to a single opponent (Australia – 95).

Rohit's happy hunting ground

India skipper Rohit scored an unbeaten 152 runs the last time India played in Guwahati (vs West Indies). Rohit struck eight sixes that day, the most by any player at this ground.

India star batsman Suryakumar Yadav has backed former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard to successfully adapt his leadership skills to the upcoming inaugural International League T20 (ILT20).

The 35-year-old swashbuckling batsman has been named as captain of the MI Emirates, the team owned by the executives of Mumbai Indians, ahead of the start of the competition on January 10. 

Pollard, who played for over a decade with Mumbai in the IPL before retiring last year, will bring plenty of experience to the position having, among other things, lifted 5 titles with the IPL franchise.

Having played for many years at Mumbai with Pollard, Yadav is confident that MI Emirates could not be in safer hands.

“I feel as a leader Pollard has been very calm, composed and gives everyone a chance to express themselves on the field whether the team is under the pump or even if we are on top,” Yadav explained.

“We felt very comfortable when he led MI and I am sure he will do the same thing for the MI Emirates,” he added.

In addition to Pollard and Yadav, the team will be boosted by the likes of the West Indian duo of Dwayne Bravo and Nicholas Pooran, who himself stepped down as captain of the West Indies white-ball teams late last year.