Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Suryakumar Yadav narrated a sweet story involving his wife after bagging the Player-of-the-Match award for his unbeaten half-century against Delhi Capitals (DC) in a high-stake IPL 2025 clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday (May 21).

Asked to bat first, MI were in a spot of bother at 58/3 after 6.4 overs. However, Suryakumar slammed 73 not out off 43 balls while batting at No. 4, propelling his team to 180/5 in 20 overs.

In reply, DC’s innings folded for 121 in 18.2 overs as MI won the game by 59 runs and became the fourth and final team to qualify for the playoffs.

After the win, Suryakumar shared that while he had received several accolades this season, the Player-of-the-Match award had remained just out of reach - something his wife reminded him of on the morning of the game.

"It has been thirteen games now, and my wife told me a sweet story. She said I've got all the awards but not the Player of the Match," Surya said in the post-match interview.

"This award is really special. From the team's point of view, the knock was important, but this trophy is for her. She waits for such moments and we celebrate them when I go back - so I'm really looking forward to it."

He added, "It was important for one batter to bat through - we knew there was a big over coming, maybe 15-20 runs. The way Naman (Dhir) came in and brought that energy helped a lot. We've got five good days ahead now before the next game."

Suryakumar Yadav’s knock, studded with 7 boundaries and 6 sixes, came in testing conditions and lifted MI from a shaky position to a match-winning total.

Surya stitched together two game-changing partnerships. First, he added 55 runs with Tilak Varma to steady the innings after early setbacks. Then, he unleashed a late blitz with Naman Dhir (24 off 8 balls), adding 57 runs in just 21 deliveries.

Having missed the play-offs last season, the five-time champions returned to the top-four in emphatic fashion.