For many years, Ab De Villiers has been seen as a 360-degree monster. he was a batter who used every part of the ground and could change his game with ease from being a quick scoring player to a patient player who could play some classy shots. In 2014 though, Suryakumar Yadav emerged. He came in with the ability to scoop and sweep behind the wickets, while he had his trademark flick over the fine-leg boundary. Used as a finisher, Suryakumar Yadav made some quick cameos back then, and cameos became match-winning innings once he joined Mumbai. With the Mumbai Indians, batting up the order, Yadav showed his ability to play patiently.

Now, with middle-order spots tight and full of competition, Suryakumar Yadav has come in and locked down his spot. At Trent Bridge, his innings bought out the daredevil in every cricket fan. Some of his shots were tough to visualize and tougher to understand. An example was a hit-over point. Full delivery on the leg stump is often visualized to be flicked or played into the leg side. However, Suryakumar Yadav, standing in a conventional position effortlessly put the ball into the stands over point. The only movement in that shot was a step to give himself room. His wrists and timing are all that are on display as Suryakumar Yadav made fans question athleticism and physics with the shot.

Another is his sweep-over square leg facing a pace bowler, a task that is normally tough to do. While the others were struggling to find runs, Suryakumar Yadav was bringing in some insane strokes and finding the boundary with ease. Another interesting stroke from him is his boundary right behind the keeper. All he did was walk towards the off side and sent the ball towards the sightscreen on the other side of the pitch.

In the middle of all these unconventional strokes, Yadav is bringing out some class as well. His innings is full of cuts and drives through the covers while he presents the straight bat beautifully. A look at his run-scoring chart shows where he scores. Runs are being scored equally front and back, leaving no hiding spot for bowlers. His strokes would do well in the middle-overs of an ODI with batters playing patiently. His pace through matches that of a T20I inning, which shows that he is getting his runs effortlessly and at a good pace.

He is doing everything right, taking games deep and using his skills well. He is one of India’s few batters who can use the full ground, with Rishabh Pant a close second. The ODIs are next, and his approach is likely to be more effective in the longer format. He has composure and strokes. Furthermore, with India looking to up their pace, his style will be fun to watch in the middle overs. Coming back to the T20 format though, Yadav is certainly doing enough to lock his position for the World Cup. His momentum and ability to manufacture shots from tough deliveries will work well with India’s approach to keep scoring at quick rates. The innings is of high quality leaving the crowd on its feet. In the end of it, Yadav definitely played with the fantasies of a cricket fan, bringing out unthinkable strokes.