'I am happy that I got the opportunity to bat higher up the order.'
Suryakumar Yadav says he is flexible enough to bat at any position but was delighted to get the opportunity to bat at No 3, where he hit a match-winning half-century for India in the fourth T20I against England in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
A blistering 57-run knock from Suryakumar, followed by a brilliant performance from the bowlers helped India win the fourth game by eight runs to level the five-match series at 2-2.
"I feel in the last three-four years I have batted at all positions. Right from opening till number seven and number eight. I am flexible to bat at any position," said Suryakumar after the match.
"Whenever someone asks me I say the same thing, I have said the same thing to the team management as well that I am very very flexible to bat at any number wherever they want me to bat. So I am happy that I got the opportunity to bat higher up the order."
The 30-year-old Mumbai batsman said he was informed in the morning by the team management that he would be batting at the crucial No 3 position in the must-win fourth match for India.
"They informed in the morning only that I will be batting higher up the order and batting at number three. So they wanted to give me the time to prepare. And I said I will try and make full use of the opportunity given when I go into bat," he said.
Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes had stitched a 65-run partnership to bring England back into the contest with their attacking strokeplay before Shardul Thakur's double strike turned the match in India's favour.
"Jonny and Ben Stokes were batting really well at that time and it became difficult for our bowlers to grip the ball. It was difficult to field as it was heavy dew outside on the field. But what I feel the way batsmen took the responsibility of creating that energy on the field, inner circle, standing outside, I feel that was the great sight," said Suryakumar.
"Bhuvneshwar, Shardul putting their hands up, taking that responsibility in the tough situations. We all knew how important this game was for us going into the decider. So we decided that our energy in the field should be really high, intensity wise and everything."
