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Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], November 22 (ANI): It's only four days since the final of the ICC World Cup 2023, but a lot has happened already for Suryakumar Yadav, with the 33-year-old named as captain for the T20I series against Australia.
The first match will take place at Visakhapatnam on Thursday, just four days after the conclusion of India's World Cup campaign at home with a loss to Australia by six wickets in the final at Ahmedabad.
The right-handed batter lauded Rohit Sharma and said that the India captain led by example, making everyone proud of him as a leader.
Having an unbeaten run throughout the tournament till the final, India came close to clinching their third World Cup crown, but Travis Head stood tall between Men in Blue's victory and starred with the bat, hitting an inspired century to make Australia's men win their sixth ICC Cricket World Cup crown.
A billion Indian hearts were broken on Sunday, but none more than the 11 players who gave their all on the field to reach the final after competing fiercely in the tournament for more than a month. Even though India did not win the 2023 World Cup at home, the way they performed throughout the competition was nothing short of an extraordinary dream for the billions of Indian supporters.
The India captain and opener set the tone at the top of the order for the hosts, hitting 597 runs, with only his teammate Virat Kohli scoring more. Rohit's tally is the seventh-highest ever at a men's Cricket World Cup, 51 runs short of his own best effort at the 2019 tournament in England. The nature of the opener's runs was even more crucial than their volume, with his strike-rate of 125.94 being the highest of any top-four batter in the tournament. As a captain, Rohit led Men in Blue to an impressive streak of 10 consecutive wins in the recently concluded 50-over showcase in India.
Suryakumar lavished praise on Rohit's captaincy and said Indian skipper 'walked the talk' during the World Cup 2023.
"That is one thing that will set an example for youngsters. What he has done in the World Cup was a completely different Rohit Sharma - he literally walked the talk. What was spoken in the team meetings, he did that on the ground. As a leader, he led by example and we will try to replicate the same thing," Suryakumar Yadav said during a pre-match press conference against Australia on Wednesday.
When asked about returning to the pitch just three days after suffering a crushing defeat in the final, Suryakumar replied that it would be difficult, but that one must "move on."
"It is difficult. It will take time. It can't be that you get up next morning, and forget everything that happened. It was a long tournament. Obviously, we would have loved to win. But you got to look at the light at the end of the tunnel. You have to forget, and move on. It is a fresh team, with new boys and new energy. So, we are looking forward to this series," Suryakumar added.
"It is a little disappointing, obviously. At the end, when you look back at the journey, it was a really great campaign. Every member, not only the players, all of India were very proud of the way we displayed our talent on the ground. That was the positive, the brand of cricket that we played throughout the tournament. And we are really proud of that," the India batter said.
The second T20I will be played on November 26 in Thiruvananthapuram followed by the third match on November 28 in Guwahati. The fourth match will be taking place on December 1 in Raipur while the fifth and final match will take place on December 3 in Bengaluru. (ANI)
