Sawt Falasteen - Suryakumar eager to repay faith of India captain Rohit in England climax

India thrashed England by 10 wickets in the first ODI at the Oval only for the 50-over world champions to bounce back with a 100-run win at Lord's that left the three-match series level at 1-1.

Suryakumar, 31, produced arguably the outstanding innings of the white-ball leg of India's tour, a stunning 117 in the third Twenty20 international at Trent Bridge. That, however, was in a losing cause, albeit India won the series 2-1.

"The camaraderie has been really good," Suryakumar, who has played with Rohit at both Mumbai and Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians, told reporters at Old Trafford on Saturday.

"He's been watching me and talking to me about cricket since I played domestic cricket.

"Coming into IPL in 2018/19 we used to talk about how I can improve my game handle pressure situations and move forward. We have had a lot of chats about my game and I have literally felt him on the ground whenever he's leading I have learnt a lot from him."

Suryakumar added: "I'm really happy he has shown a lot of confidence in me. I would like to pay back that confidence by scoring runs and winning the game for the team."

The talented right-hander is particularly keen to impress in England, having been a member of the squad for last year's tour, cut short ahead of what should have been the fifth Test at Old Trafford by coronavirus concerns within the India camp.

"I came here last year with the Test team, didn't get an opportunity, but I enjoyed the practice sessions, batted a lot in the nets and really wanted to be part of the XI," Suryakumar said.

"It (Old Trafford) is a beautiful ground, it looks a beautiful wicket as well."

L.Hussein--SF-PST