“Sure this was another video game innings” - Virat Kohli’s cheeky praise for Suryakumar Yadav after latter’s ton in 2nd IND vs NZ T20I

Team India batter Virat Kohli praised Suryakumar Yadav in a cheeky manner after the latter notched up a brilliant century in the second T20I against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, November 20. Kohli took to social media and wrote that the innings reiterated why he is the best T20I batter in the world.

Suryakumar is the No.1 ranked batter in the ICC T20I batting rankings. On Sunday, he gave yet another demonstration of his exceptional ability with the willow in the shortest format, hammering an unbeaten 111 off only 51 balls. His innings featured 11 fours and seven sixes. The Mumbai batter's ton was his second three-figure score in T20Is, with both coming in 2022.

Following the end of India’s innings in the second T20I, Kohli took to his official Twitter handle and lavished praise on Suryakumar. He wrote in a somewhat mischievous tone:

“Numero Uno showing why he's the best in the world. Didn't watch it live but I'm sure this was another video game innings by him @surya_14kumar.”

Thanks to Suryakumar’s brilliance with the bat, the Men in Blue ended up posting a competitive 191/6 on the board after losing the toss and being invited to bat first.

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Suryakumar Yadav lifts Team India after middling start

With regular skipper Rohit Sharma, Kohli, and KL Rahul being rested for the New Zealand tour, India sent Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan to open the innings. The former struggled for fluency and was dismissed for six off 13 by Lockie Ferguson, adding to his growing list of failures in the T20 format.

Ishan Kishan scored 36 off 31. However, he too did not look all that fluent out in the middle and eventually perished to Ish Sodhi. When Shreyas Iyer was hit-wicket for 13, Team India were in a spot of bother at 108/3.

Suryakumar, however, ensured Team India ended up with an impressive total, taking on the Kiwi bowlers and dominating them. It needed a hat-trick from Tim Southee in the last over to ensure the Men in Blue did not cross 200.

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IND vs NZ 2nd T20I: Today's match playing XIs

India: Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant (w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya (c), Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (w), Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson.