Being one step ahead of Suryakumar Yadav is often hard at times, admits Aussie pacer Jason Behrendorff

NEW DELHI: Jason Behrendorff has consistently aimed to outmaneuver players like Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan but on Saturday the Aussie left-arm pacer acknowledged the challenge in staying ahead of their game.
In the T20I series opener, Behrendorff remained the sole Australian bowler to emerge unscathed, returning figures of 1/25. In contrast, his teammates conceded an average of over 11 runs during India’s pursuit of 209 runs in Visakhapatnam.
Despite Behrendorff’s resilient performance, Suryakumar’s blistering 80 off 42 balls and Kishan’s impressive half-century laid the groundwork for India’s victorious chase.
Behrendorff said he recognizes the difficulty in containing such formidable opponents on the field. When asked what could possibly be his strategy to stop his Mumbai Indians teammate, Behrendorff replied in jest, “Give the ball to someone else may be.”
“They are all pretty good players and may be try to keep them guessing, just to stay one step ahead which is hard to do at times. Maybe, do what we can in terms of change in pace, line and length,” the lanky seamer said during the pre-match media conference on Saturday.
The team management’s brief to Behrendorff has been simple, get the ball to jag around and get some breakthroughs in the first six overs of Powerplay.
“I have been pretty fortunate that the ball swung pretty much whenever I have played in India. So, sticking to my strength and trying to swing the ball upfront and take wickets in Powerplay, that’s what I have been able to do over a period of time,” the seamer explained his role.
The man who took 14 wickets in 12 IPL games for Mumbai Indians during the 2023 IPL, believes in keeping the line of his deliveries straight as the margin of error is miniscule.
“The main thing was to see if there’s any swing upfront and that’s my main strength and trying to stick to that. Line-wise, I was generally trying to be straighter than anything because you know in India it can travel to the fence quickly. In terms of variations, I try it depending upon the surface and at some places it grips more than others,” he explained his thought process.
Behrendorff wasn’t a part of the World Cup-winning squad and he utilised the time well, playing domestic cricket and working on improving his existing skill-set.
“I was playing domestic cricket back home and getting ready for this series. Coming to India and playing against them is always a great challenge,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)