Suryakumar stood tall for his side and scored unbeaten 68 runs.
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri on Saturday (9th April) lauded ‘unreal’ Suryakumar Yadav for his ‘unbelievable’ knock against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 18 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 in Pune. He said that the Mumbai Indians (MI) batter deserves a 'Surya Namaskar' for his heroics.
Even though Mumbai Indians suffered their fourth consecutive loss in the IPL 2022, the form of Suryakumar Yadav has been the biggest positive for them. The right-hander played an exceptional knock under pressure and helped his side post a fighting total on the board after a massive collapse that saw them tumbling from 50/1 to 79/6.
Coming to bat at No.4, Suryakumar Yadav blasted an unbeaten knock of 68 runs. He smashed RCB bowlers all over the park by flaunting his 360-degree game.
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In a match, where every other MI batter struggled with the bat, Suryakumar smashed 6 sixes and 5 boundaries to help his side score 59 runs in the last 5 overs and post a total of 151 runs.
Speaking about his innings on Star Sports in the mid-innings show, Ravi Shastri lauded Suryakumar Yadav for playing an ‘unbelievable’ knock. He talked about how the right-hander did most of the damage despite the team struggling and quipped that he deserves a 'Surya Namaskar' for his exploits
"Unbelievable. He played a gem in their last game. Today (Saturday) was really special. When you are 50/0 and then 89/6 and then your team scores 71 runs in the last 5 overs with Surya doing most of the damage, you know at the end of the knock as he passes by, say 'Surya Namaskar'. At the stage when you have your team on the mat, to throw a counter-punch like he did, it was amazing," Ravi Shastri said.
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Calling Suryakumar ‘unreal’, Shastri correlated Suryakumar with AB de Villiers and Jos Buttler, saying that his uncanny ability to find gaps and hit shots all round the wicket makes him right up there on the world stage.
"The variety of shots he plays, the wrist work, the power he brings to his game, his uncanny ability to look at where the gaps are and hit there, he is just very unreal. AB de Villiers in his prime did it. You won't get too many like them in cricket, there was de Villiers, there is Buttler and Suryakumar. He is right up there on the world stage," he said.
Notably, Suryakumar Yadav missed the first two matches for MI due to injury. He announced his arrival in style by smashing a half-century against KKR in the last game and followed it with a 68-run knock against RCB.
He will be next seen in action when MI play Punjab Kings on Wednesday (13th April) at MCA Stadium in Pune.
(Star Sports inputs)