New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS): Amidst the applause directed towards Suryakumar Yadav for victory, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has highlighted the significant role played by Kuldeep Yadav in the third T20 against the West Indies.

Yadav picked 3 crucial wickets in the first innings of the match, dismissing opener Brandon King, Johnson Charles and the dangerous Nicholas Pooran, to put the clamps on the West Indies to reduce the hosts to a meagre total of 159/5 after they had won the toss and elected to bat.

"Surya was brilliant again but Kuldeep the real match-winner for me. Restricting WI to 159 by taking 3 top-order wickets including that of Pooran. Well done Kuldeep," Manjrekar wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Chasing 160, India lost opener Shubman Gill (6) and Yashavi Jaiswal (1) early, but Suryakumar wasn't fazed by the setback as he terrorised the opposition bowlers with the clean hitting and played a magnificent 83-run knock, laced with four sixes and ten boundaries.

By the time he was out in the 13th over, India was in a dominant position. Then, the rising star Tilak Varma (49 not out), who fell agonisingly short of a second consecutive half-century in just his third international appearance, played a crucial supporting role to ensure that India reached the target comfortably in 17.5 overs, finishing at 164/3.