The more the pressure, better the play: Surya

India's swashbuckling batter Suryakumar Yadav says he prefers putting himself under pressure while preparing for a match. The 32-year-old on Saturday smashed an unbeaten 51-ball 112 against Sri Lanka in the third T20I to pave the way for India's 91-run win and a 2-1 series verdict in favour of the home team.

"It is really important to put pressure on yourself when you are preparing for the game. The more pressure you put, the better you can play. There is a lot of hard work involved. Some quality practice sessions are also involved," Suryakumar said after his blazing knock.

His knock, laced with seven fours and nine sixes, powered India to an imposing 228 for five, a total that proved to be too good for the visitors.

Surya played shots in all parts of the ground and credited head coach Rahul Dravid for allowing him to play his natural game. "The boundaries behind were 59-60m, so I tried to clear them. There are a few shots that are pre-determined but you have to be ready for other strokes as well.

"Most of the time, I try to find the gap, and use the field to my advantage, Dravid lets me enjoy, and tells me to express myself," he said.

The middle-order batter's century was his third in the international format in just seven months, making him the first player in the history of the game to score three T20I hundreds when not opening the batting. Surya also became the fastest batter to reach the 1500-run mark in T20Is in terms of balls faced.

In 45 T20Is, the Mumbai-born cricketer has scored 1578 runs at an average of 46.41 and a strike-rate of 180.34 with three hundreds and 13 half-centuries to his name. "I'm really happy with the way the innings went," Yadav said after his latest knock.

"A few of my shots are pre-determined, but these are the shots I've been playing over the last year and I'm not doing anything different. "Most of the time, I try to find the gap, and use the field to my advantage. "So nothing new. It's a fresh start in 2023 and I hope to continue doing well." (PTI)