Former Indian swashbuckling batter Virender Sehwag has lavished praise on Suryakumar Yadav after his match-winning knock in the team’s opening clash of the T20 World Cup against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday.

SKY scored a brilliant knock of 84 runs off just 49 balls, laden with 10 fours and four sixes. Sehwag rated this as one of the SKY’s best T20I knocks of his career.

India was in all kinds of trouble at 77-6 after they were put into bat on a tricky Mumbai pitch but SKY played a captain’s knock to help his team post 161 runs on the board. Ergo, he was awarded Player of the Match for his superb knock.

“I think this might be one of the best knocks of his career. He has scored hundreds before and it is not like those knocks are not the best. But this knock, when the other players are not scoring and getting out, when he scores 84* and takes the team to a respectable total, there is that satisfaction of contribution and playing a captain’s knock,” Virender Sehwag said on JioStar.

Meanwhile, SKY wasn’t in the best of forms in 2025 but he has been able to turn a corner in 2026. The right-hander scored 242 runs in five matches against New Zealand recently at an average of 80.67 and a strike rate of 196.75. Thus, he was awarded Player of the Series for his consistent performances with the bat.

The Indian captain showed maturity in his game and made the most of his experience after India was put under the pump by the USA.

India will next take on Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on February 12.