• Suryakumar Yadav said that his relationship with Virat Kohli had been formed by a mutual respect for each other’s playing styles
• Kohli’s superb 62 not out was his second consecutive unbeaten half-century after a blitzkrieg in India’s victory over Pakistan on Sunday

After leading India to a victory over the Netherlands by 56 runs in the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday, Indian batsman Suryakumar Yadav said that his relationship with Virat Kohli had been formed by a mutual respect for each other’s playing styles.

It was Suryakumar’s turn to go ballistic against the Dutch, as he smashed a 25-ball 51. Kohli’s superb 62 not out was his second consecutive unbeaten half-century after a blitzkrieg in India’s victory over Pakistan on Sunday. Kohli’s innings was his second consecutive unbeaten half-century after a blitzkrieg.

After Suryakumar and Kohli’s undefeated stand of 95 runs in 48 balls pushed the 2007 winners to 179-2, a score that proved to be too much for the Dutch to handle, Suryakumar stated that he enjoyed batting with Kohli.

“I feel we respect each other’s game. For example, if I’m getting few boundaries from one end, he tries to rotate and to keep the intent to look for good shots,” Suryakumar said.

“It’s just the respect we have for each of us when we’re batting together. We just enjoy batting with each other and what shots he plays. We try to run hard as much as possible.

“So it’s a great thing, and I’m really looking forward to having more partnerships with him.”

Suryakumar, who has scored 867 runs in 2022 at a strike rate of more than 180, stated that his method was more uncomplicated. Kohli, on the other hand, is capable of having an explosion at any time, but his strength lay in slowly amassing runs.

“I look for boundaries, try and hit the gaps and run hard. When you are batting with Kohli, you have to run hard as well,” said Suryakumar.

“He just clears your thoughts. When I was batting and when I was a little confused… he was coming up to me and telling me what delivery can you expect from that bowler.

“It’s very good camaraderie.”