Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav shared insights into India's triumphant win over Afghanistan, shifting the conversation to an intriguing in-match incident involving Virat Kohli. Suryakumar Yadav, one of Team India's star batters, delivered a remarkable performance under pressure during the T20 World Cup match on Thursday. After Rohit Sharma opted to bat, India faced a rocky start; the captain was dismissed early with only 8 runs, and Virat Kohli had another tough outing, managing a run-a-ball 24 before falling to Rashid Khan.


Despite the early setbacks, Suryakumar's aggressive batting turned the tide. He reached his half-century off just 27 balls, although he was dismissed immediately afterward. His crucial knock played a key role in securing India's commanding 47-run victory. Following the match, the BCCI released a video featuring a candid conversation between Suryakumar and all-rounder Axar Patel, reflecting on their performances.


During the chat, Axar humorously recounted a moment when Kohli seemed to offer batting advice to Suryakumar after the 10th over break. However, Suryakumar's response hinted that he might have playfully “bluffed” Kohli, choosing to rely on his instincts instead. While Suryakumar's decision to maintain an aggressive approach paid off, Axar couldn't resist teasing him.



“We had a break after the 10th over, and I heard Virat bhai say something. What was that? Because as soon as you went back, you started hitting slog-sweeps and all!” Axar remarked. Suryakumar explained that he adopted an aggressive strategy to build momentum after a slow start to the innings.


“Actually, 160 looked like a par score on this wicket. It was hard batting at first. But then, I thought if I started with strong momentum after the break and hit a couple of boundaries, it would ease things for us and the new batters coming in as well,” replied Suryakumar, 33.


Axar playfully suggested, “That means you bluffed Virat bhai!” Suryakumar laughed, clarifying, “No, no, I didn't bluff! I was just being myself!”


This was Suryakumar's second consecutive half-century; his previous innings saw him score an unbeaten 50 off 49 deliveries, guiding India to a seven-wicket win in their 111-run chase against the United States. The victory secured India's place in the Super Eight stage of the tournament.


**India Faces Bangladesh Next**

Unbeaten in the tournament so far, India's next challenge is against Bangladesh, who recently suffered a defeat to Australia in their opening Super Eight match on Friday. In their previous warm-up match against Bangladesh last month, Rohit Sharma's team secured a convincing 60-run win.