MATCH STORIES
Follow UsSuryakumar Yadav is back. And he is back at his explosive best. A duck on his return to competitive cricket against Delhi Capitals (DC) proved he is human after all. However, was there any doubt that he would turn things around?
Jasprit Bumrah stole the spotlight with the ball in the first innings with a fifer, Ishan Kishan then smashed a 23-ball fifty after that. There was no way this day was going to get any better for Mumbai Indians (MI). Or was it?
Enter SKY!
While Surya was not under pressure, his wicket would have given Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) hope, having gotten their first breakthrough. He shut that out completely. His first boundary off Akash Deep when he was batting on 5 (5) was what he needed to open the floodgates, and he did not look back after that.
That one over alone was good enough to show the world his array of shots – shots that have made him the best T20 batter in the world. He used his wrist to go over mid-wicket, pulled a short ball to the deep square-leg fence and then whipped out his “Supla” shot – getting outside the line and then just whacking it over fine-leg.
There was no looking back after that. Pacer or spinner, full, short or back-of-length, Surya had the answers. He carved it between point and third-man, cleverly placed it past the wicketkeeper and drove with great panache.
The 33-year-old has been nothing short of an opposition captain’s nightmare. He has enough shots in his repertoire to manipulate the field, and if you do not get him early, there are chances that he will take the game away from you. He played beautifully in the 'V' alright, just that it came behind the wicket – something the world has become accustomed to, over the last few years. Surya's ability to pierce the field with ease in that area has left many captains pulling their hair out.
It was against RCB in 2020 in Abu Dhabi that he scored an unbeaten 43-ball 79 to take his side home. He looked at his dressing room gesturing "I'm here." In a way, he told them that they do not need to worry till he was at the crease. He finally made his much-awaited India debut five months after that, and he has grown from strength to strength after that.
In the bigger scheme of things, Surya’s fitness was going to be crucial not just for MI but also for India, with the T20 World Cup not too far away.
In T20s since 2023, Surya has 1,390 runs at 44.84 and a strike rate of 168.5. Among non-openers with a minimum of 800 T20 runs in this period, only three other players either have a batter average or a higher strike rate.
Even at the international level, the right-hander has 733 runs in this period, the most for anyone batting at three or below – further stressing how vital he is going to be for India.
Even for MI, only Ishan Kishan (1,033) has scored more runs than Surya (960) in the IPL since 2022. And Kishan has played eight more innings than the right-hander in this period.
After losing three in a row, Mumbai have now won two on the bounce. 2015 saw them lose four matches in a row, win just one in six, and then go on a roll to eventually claim the title. SKY becomes a crucial cog in the MI line-up if they want history to repeat itself.
With the opening stand showing promise, having registered three 50-plus stands in five innings, Surya at three becomes a crucial figure. He can take on the bowlers like he did today, and keep the momentum going and play a counter-attacking innings to get the side moving again.
"When the tournament started I was mentally here only, although physically in Bangalore [recovering from the injury], it felt like I never left," he said after the match. For those watching, it certainly felt the same.
