Surya Kumar Yadav responded to the Team India snub with a majestic knock versus RCB.
Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) battled each other in Match 48 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday (October 28). MI stand-in captain Kieron Pollard won the toss and opted to bowl first in the clash between the table-toppers with an eye on qualification for the playoffs.
RCB posted a score of 164/6 with opener Devdutt Padikkal top scoring with 74. Josh Philippe, who replaced Aaron Finch also contributed 33, but the star batsmen of the franchise Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers failed to get going, scoring just 9 and 15. Jasprit Bumrah was brilliant with the ball again, picking up for 3 for 14.
MI did not get the blazing start that they usually have got from Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma, as they were 52/2 in the 8th over and soon lost the wicket of Saurabh Tiwary as well.
But, batting at number three, Surya Kumar Yadav took control of the situation and went on to score an unbeaten 79 off 43 balls to take the defending champions to a 5-wicket win, also virtually securing their playoffs berth with 16 points in the bag. He did not get a lot of support from the other end, but it did not matter as he single-handedly took on the RCB bowling attack and smashed it to all corners with some class.
READ ALSO: Cricket fraternity lauds Suryakumar Yadav as his dazzling 79* hands MI 5-wicket win over RCB
Surya, who must have been disappointed at not being picked in India's white-ball squads for the tour of Australia, used the setback to come up with a knock of the highest quality to send a reminder to the selectors that he is still around, which showed in his 'Main Hoon Naa' or 'I am there' gesture to the team dugout after hitting the winning runs.
Watch the video here: