One came into this match in a rich a vein of form, after having rediscovered himself. The other had to put himself on the path to rediscovering form. The two combined in the third T20I against West Indies to hand India a seven-wicket win and keep the series alive. Trailing 1-2, India now head to Florida for the last two games.
The target of 160 did not look that simple given the way the pitch assisted spin in the first half of the match. Kuldeep Yadav made best use of that. But losing Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the debutant, cheaply suggested that it was going to be another struggle. That was when Suryakumar Yadav came alive and made it a no-contest.
Surya had got starts in T20Is after making 112 not out against New Zealand in January. But his best in the next five innings was 47. A prolonged run of low scores in ODIs made things look worse. He was on song in Guyana, on-driving the first ball for four and pulling the second for six. It was a one-man show, supported by Tilak Varma, after that.
Surya, who turns 33 next month, unfurled his full range of shots. The pick of those were whipped off the pads, one sailing over deep square-leg. There was also an audacious straight six off Obed McCoy. After completing his 14th T20I fifty, he brought out the ‘falling scoop’ in the land of Rohan Kanhai, who was famous for his ‘falling sweep’. Surya’s 44-ball 83 contained 10 fours and four sixes.
Varma, the left-hand batter playing only his third T20I, too got off to a brisk start, with fours off the first two balls he faced. Seeing Surya cut loose, he decided to rotate strike and watch the fun from the other end. It was a mature show in his debut series by the 20 year old, who followed up scores of 39 and 51 with an unbeaten 49 off 37 balls, with four fours and a six. The best part was that he looked determined to finish the game.
West Indies were on course for something more than 159 when Brandon King (42 off 42) and Nicholas Pooran were together. Hardik Pandya was quick to notice the assistance for spinners, and kept them in operation for nine overs after the first two. There was some bounce and turn, and Kuldeep, the left-arm wrist-spinner, continued his good run with figures of 4-0-28-3. He has been a changed bowler of late, and he broke the tempo of the innings by dismissing King and Pooran in the 15th over.
Using the spinners early on also meant Pandya had to use the quicker bowlers in the later stages, as Mukesh Kumar was introduced into the attack in the 18th over. Rovman Powell, the West Indies skipper, got after Arshdeep Singh and dealt some big blows to remain unbeaten on 40 off 19 balls with a four and three sixes. Axar Patel also returned tidy figures of 4-0-24-1. The total looked challenging at the break, before Surya ensured that India got home in just 17.5 overs.