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MELBOURNE, Australia – Rohit Sharma struck an important half-century against the Netherlands, Virat Kohli has made a strong start in the T20 World Cup.

At the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli has gotten off to a fast start, while Rohit Sharma, who overcame some difficulty in the middle to smash a significant half-century against the Netherlands on Thursday, has also done well. Due to a spectacular catch by him, Rohit had only scored four runs prior to the match against Pakistan, but Kohli famously produced an unbeaten 82 from 53 balls to lead India to victory.

But Suryakumar Yadav, India’s number four, has been a recurring element of their recent success in the game’s shortest format, regularly destroying the opposing bowling attacks. Suryakumar was at his aggressive best against the Netherlands, smashing 51 runs off 25 balls to help India set the target of 180 runs for the Dutch. Despite only being dismissed for a quickfire 15 off 10 balls against Pakistan, Suryakumar was still able to score quickly. Only 123 to 9 in 20 overs could be mustered by Netherlands as a response.

In praise of Suryakumar’s performance against the Netherlands, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir the top order, including Rohit, Kohli, and KL Rahul, have been overshadowed by Suryakumar in multiple match-winning performances for the men in blue in just one year and seven months since his debut in Twenty20 internationals, Gambhir noted. In many of his partnerships with India’s top order, and particularly in those with Kohli, the 32-year-old has been the aggressor.

At No. 4, he does not frequently have the luxury of getting to bat for the opening six overs while still being able to reach close to 1000 runs at that strike rate. Whether he is batting with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, or even KL Rahul, he has greatly reduced the pressure on all of them. According to Gambhir on Star Sports, whenever he has batted, he has been the aggressor.

Gambhir continued, “He is the one who is taking a lot of burden off the top three and that’s why India have been able to reach 180 runs (179) today.

Three of India’s batters—Rohit, Kohli, and Suryakumar—scored half centuries in the game against the Netherlands. While Kohli scored the most runs among the three with a knock of 62 runs in 44 balls, Rohit scored 53 runs off 39 balls. Suryakumar was chosen as the winner of the game, nonetheless.

With four points after two games and the victory, Team India quickly ascended to the top of their group. The showpiece tournament’s third match for Rohit Sharma and company will now take place on Sunday, October 30 in Perth and will feature South Africa.