IND vs AUS: Suryakumar 'knows his game inside out,' says Kohli after India win T20I series against Australia

Virat Kohli has heaped praise on Suryakumar Yadav, saying the middle-order batsman "knows his game inside out".

Kohli's comments came on Sunday after Surya played a match-winning knock of 69 to help India defeat Australia by six wickets in the third T20I. With that, India also claimed the T20I series 2-1.

During India's chase of 187 in the decisive third T20I in Hyderabad, Kohli and Surya put up 104 runs for the third wicket and scored a half-century each. Surya stole the show yet again with his strike rate of close to 200 as he struck five sixes and five fours in his 36-ball 69. Kohli, meanwhile, scored a 48-ball 63, including four sixes and three fours.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Kohli said that Surya has the "clarity in what he wants to do."

"He [Surya] has the game to bat under any sort of situation and any condition. He has shown that already. He got a hundred in England, he batted beautifully in the Asia Cup. Here, he's striking the ball as well as I have seen him strike. For the past six months, he's been outstanding. It's the array of shots and to play those shots at the right time is such a tremendous skill. He's a guy who knows his game inside out. He's got the gift of timing and I was in awe watching him play his shots," Kohli said of Surya on Sunday.

Surya was named the Player of the Match for his half-century, which was his seventh fifty in the T20Is for India.

When Kohli was asked about his batting, the former Indian skipper said he has been batting at No. 3 because he wants to "utilise" his experience and wants to keep contributing and doing what is best for the team.

"That's why I'm batting at 3, I have to utilise my experience and give the team what the team wants. I got off to a good start then I had to take down Zampa because he's an important bowler through the middle. When Surya started hitting it like that, I kinda looked at the dug-out as well. Rohit and Rahul bhai both told me, 'you can just keep batting on' because Surya was striking it that well. It was just about building a partnership. I just used my experience a little bit," said Kohli after India's win.

IND vs AUS: I had made up my mind about going after Adam Zampa, says Virat Kohli

In the last game, Australian spinner Adam Zampa dismissed Kohli, which marked the eighth time the Indian batsman got out to this particular player. Zampa now holds the record for dismissing Kohli for the most number of times for an Australian.

Kohli went on to add that he had already decided to go after Zampa, who has always tried to control the former's scoring rate.

"I kind of made up my mind to go after him [Adam Zampa] today. He's a quality bowler and he tries to control my scoring rate whenever we play and I knew that he was going to attack the stumps, so I was standing outside leg already. Last game I was a bit disappointed that after hitting him for a four, I went for a double rather than hitting him for a six," said Kohli.

The former Indian captain, who had been struggling to score runs for a while now, earlier took a month's break to regroup himself. Following that, Kohli ended his three-year wait and recorded his 71st international century. It came in Asia Cup 2022 against Afghanistan and it was also his maiden T20I hundred.

"I'm making a conscious effort to strike those big ones through the middle overs so that it can help the team situation. The game shouldn't have gone on that long, we should have probably had 4 or 5 to chase in the final over. It was important to maintain my composure and get one boundary (on that first-ball six in the 20th over). I'm happy with my contribution to the team, I took a break, went back to the nets, worked hard on my fitness and think it's coming off well. I want to keep contributing and doing my best for the team," Kohli said further.