Mumbai Indians clinched a magnificent victory against defending champions Gujarat Titans on Friday, May 12, at the Wankhede Stadium. The victory would not have been possible without Suryakumar Yadav’s efforts as the World No. 1 T20I batter notched up his maiden IPL century and took his team a step closer to the playoff spot.
The star Indian batter received appreciation from everyone around the world as the cricketing fraternity lauded his powerful knock of 103*(49). But former India cricketer, and a legend of the game, Sachin Tendulkar reserved special praise for the 32-year-old. Tendulkar, who is a part of Mumbai Indians’ think tank, witnessed every shot of Suryakumar but lauded one six that the batter hit off Mohammed Shami’s delivery.
“@surya_14kumar (Suryakumar Yadav) lit up the evening sky today! He played excellent shots through the innings but the one that stood out for me was the 6 over third man off @MdShami11 (Mohammed Shami). The way he opened the face of the bat to create that angle off the blade at the same time is very very tough to do and not many batters in world cricket can play that shot,” Tendulkar wrote in his Tweet.
Mumbai Indians inch closer to playoff berth
Suryakumar’s knock included 11 fours and six sixes as he clobbered the runs at a strike rate of 210.20. And out of all his exquisite shots, the Little Master picked up his favourite. Notably, When Suryakumar hit that six, Tendulkar was seen imitating the shot while sitting in the dugout alongside Piyush Chawla, Ishan Kishan, and other members of the squad.
After being criticised for his poor outings in the initial stages of the Indian Premier League 2023, Suryakumar Yadav bounced back and gained his mojo at the perfect time, as his team looks even stronger to seal a playoff spot. One of the biggest advantages for the five-time champions is that they play another game at their home ground, the Wankhede Stadium, out of the two remaining. Hence, the Rohit Sharma-led side will be aiming to make the most of the familiar conditions.