MI vs RCB: Suryakumar Yadav completes 3000 runs in IPL, notches up his highest individual score

Suryakumar Yadav. (Photo Source: IPL)

Suryakumar Yadav continued his purple patch in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2023. The Mumbai Indians batter took Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners in the 54th Match played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. MI needed 200 runs to win as RCB notched up a mammoth total, courtesy of early attacks by Glenn Maxwell (68 off 33 balls) and Faf du Plessis (65 off 41 balls), followed by late blows from Dinesh Karthik.

Suryakumar came in to bat at no. 3 after Ishan Kishan departed following a blistering knock of 42 runs off 21 balls. Throughout his innings, Surya kept sending back whatever came his way, as RCB bowlers seemed absolutely clueless. He completed his fifty in just 26 balls. After reaching the milestone, the 32-year-old accelerated his strike rate further to snatch the game away from the du Plessis-led side.

Skipper du Plessis handed the ball to their strike bowler Hasaranga in the 15th over. However, Surya did not show any mercy and scored 14 runs off the first three balls with two sixes coming off alternate deliveries. The second maximum meant that the batter breached the 3000-run mark in the cash-rich league. On account of his swashbuckling knock, MI climbed to the driver’s seat where they required runs at a rate lower than six by the end of 15 overs.

In the very next over, pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak came into bowl the third over of his spell. Taking the juice out of his over, Surya hit a waist-high no-ball for a maximum, followed by consecutive boundaries. However, Vyshak had the last laugh as he dismissed Surya for 83 runs scored off 35 balls, not before he had sealed the match in Mumbai’s favour. At the time of his dismissal, MI needed just 8 runs with 26 balls to spare. Courtesy of the Nehal Wadhera-Suryakumar duo’s partnership of 140 runs, MI won the game comfortably, as the southpaw hit a six to lock the required target.

A victory meant that MI took a big jump moving to the third spot on the IPL 2023 Points Table right behind Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, nearing the playoffs spot towards the fag end of the tournament.

Suryakumar becomes fourth highest run-getter for Mumbai Indians

After his sensational knock on the batting-friendly pitch of Mumbai, Suryakumar Yadav also became the fourth most successful batter (in terms of runs scored) for the Mumbai-based franchise in the league’s history.

Suryakumar now has 2412 runs from 78 innings at an average of 33.50 and a strike rate of over 140. He stands right behind Rohit Sharma (4900), Kieron Pollard (3412) and Ambati Rayudu (2416) on the coveted list.

Notably, 83 against RCB is also his highest individual score, while he has compiled a total of 19 fifty-plus scores for the five-time champions.