India Vs Sri Lanka 2024: Suryakumar Yadav Equals Massive Virat Kohli Record In T20I Series Win Over Lankans

New T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav started off his stint with a bang leading Team India to an unbeatable 2-0 series lead in the three-match series against Sri Lanka on Sunday with one game still remaining. Suryakumar Yadav led from the front with the bat, scoring a half-century in the first T20 on Saturday and a 12-ball 26 in the rain-hit second game in Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy on Sunday (July 28) as India grabbed an unassailable lead over the hosts. 

In course of the first two games, Suryakumar Yadav equalled a massive record which earlier belonged to former India captain and batter Virat Kohli in T20I cricket. Suryakumar Yadav and Kohli are the only two cricketers in world cricket with 16 ‘Player of the match (POTM)’ awards in T20I cricket. 

While ‘SKY’ achieved this feat in only 69 matches while winning the award in the first T20I on Saturday, Kohli achieved this feat in 125 matches – including the T20 World Cup 2024 final which incidentally was also his final game in this format. 

Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza is in third place on the list with 15 ‘POTM’ awards in 91 matches while Malaysia’s Virandeeep Singh, Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan and India’s Rohit Sharma have won 14 awards each. 

For leading from the front with the bat, #TeamIndia Captain Suryakumar Yadav becomes the Player of the Match

Scorecard https://t.co/Ccm4ubmWnj… #SLvIND | @surya_14kumar pic.twitter.com/s2LGOFsrsw

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 27, 2024

Here’s a full list of cricketers with most ‘Player of the Match’ awards in T20I cricket… 

1. Suryakumar Yadav (India) – 16 in 70 matches
2. Virat Kohli (India) – 16 in 125 matches
3. Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) – 15 in 91 matches
4. Virandeep Singh (Malaysia) – 14 in 78 matches
5. Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan) – 14 in 129 matches
6. Rohit Sharma (India) – 14 in 159 matches

Meanwhile, skipper Suryakumar Yadav was delighted that his team were able to set a ‘template’ for T20I cricket going forward. “We spoke about this before this tournament, what brand of cricket we want to play. Even though it was a shorter target, this is the template we want going ahead. With the weather around, I thought anything below 160 or 150 chasing would’ve been nice,” Suryakumar Yadav said after the second T20I win on Sunday night. 

“We’ve seen games here have been tricky. Rain helped us. The way the boys batted…wonderful,” he added.