India Dominate Sri Lanka in T20I Series Opener: Captain Suryakumar Yadav Equals Virat Kohli’s Player of the Match Record in Fewer Matches

Suryakumar Yadav, the newly appointed captain of the Indian cricket team for T20 matches, has broken a record previously held by Virat Kohli when he led India to a convincing 43-run win over Sri Lanka in the series opener on Saturday. Following the convincing performance, Suryakumar Yadav was adjudged the Player of the Match, making him equal with former India T20I star Virat Kohli for the most Player of the Match awards. The 35-year-old, who retired from T20Is last month following India’s T20 World Cup triumph, had 16 Player of the Match awards, the last of which came in the 2024 title race for the tournament. Suryakumar has now equalled Kohli’s record in 56 fewer matches, marking a solid start to his captaincy stint with the Indian team. Here’s a look at the players with the most Player of the Match awards in T20Is:

Suryakumar made his T20I debut in 2021 and has been an integral part of the team since then. Last year, the batsman also climbed to No. 1 in the ICC rankings. Suryakumar was appointed India’s T20I captain earlier this month following a change in the team’s management, with Gautam Gambhir taking over as head coach, succeeding Rahul Dravid. The batsman had already captained the Indian team in a three-match T20I series against South Africa last year.

– Suryakumar Yadav (India) – 16 (in 69 matches)- Virat Kohli (India) – 16 (in 125 matches)- Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) – 15 (in 91 matches)- Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan) – 14 (in 129 matches)- Rohit Sharma (India) – 14 (in 159 matches)

Suryakumar made an impressive 58 runs from just 26 balls, which set the tone for India’s innings. This was supported by a strong 74-run partnership between openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in the first six overs. Together, they helped India reach a formidable total of 213 runs for 7 wickets, which put Sri Lanka under immense pressure from the outset. Sri Lanka put up a commendable fight with the bat, remaining competitive till the 15th over.

However, the Indian bowlers showed their mettle and adapted perfectly to the slow pitch conditions in the later stages of the match. Despite the early resistance, Indian spinners Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and newcomer Riyan Parag claimed six wickets between them, dismantling the Sri Lankan batting line-up. From a promising position at 149 for 2, Sri Lanka collapsed, losing seven wickets for just 21 runs, as the Indian bowlers took control of the match.