'I knew 19th over has always been difficult for Indian cricket': Suryakumar Yadav reveals why he trusted Rinku Singh when Sri Lanka needed 9 runs from 2 overs

Not even in the wildest of imaginations, one could have predicted that Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav will bowl the last two overs with nine runs to defend and India will end up on the winning side. Both Rinku and Suryakumar bowled on the T20I stage for the first time but caused a batting collapse with four wickets and took the game into super over. After India completed series cleansweep, Suryakumar said why he decided to introduce part-time off-spinner Rinku to do the job.
 

“The decision for the 20th over was easy, the difficult part was for the 19th over. Siraj and few others had their overs left. But I felt Rinku was better suited for that wicket because I have seen him bowling and I made him practice a lot at the nets. I felt it was right and that is why I took that call,” Suryakumar told Sony Sports.
 

Surya took match-ups in account for 19th over

Former Indian left-arm pacer Ashish nehra asked Surykumar why he did not bowl the 19th over. The 33-year-old said that left-handed batter Kusal Perera and Kamindu Mendis were the reason behind it. He joked about the 19th over being tough for Indian cricket in the format as well. 

ALSO READ: 'We can't give excuses': Sri Lankan captain Charith Asalanka lashes out at middle-order batters for making a mess of run chase
 

“I knew the 19th over has always been difficult for Indian cricket (laughs). That is why I gave the responsibility to Rinku. For a right-hander bowling to a left-hander, it is always difficult for the batter. It was great that he made the best use of his skill and made my work easy because now I have one more bowling option going forward,” he added.

ALSO READ: Gautam Gambhir couldn't stop smiling as Rinku Singh takes his maiden T20I wicket to turn game upside down; watch video
 

The death overs drama

Rinku conceded just three runs and bagged two wickets. His maiden wicket even brought s wry smile on head coach Gautam Gambhir’s face. He dismissed Perera who scored 46 runs from 34 balls. He left six overs to defend for Suryakumar who bagged a couple of wickets as well to take the game into super over where Washington Sundar took two wickets to leave a target of three runs for the visitors. Suryakumar swept Maheesh Theekshana to finish the game with a boundary.
 

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