MATCH STORIES
Follow Us174 was much more than Mumbai Indians (MI) would have hoped to chase, especially after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were tottering at 136/8. Pat Cummins decided to have one of his best days with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 35 at a strike rate in excess of 200, adding a further 37 runs with Sanvir Singh (8*) to put up a competitive total on the board.
SRH certainly had the momentum at the break and they came out all guns blazing with the ball, reducing the hosts to 31/3 in just 25 balls. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had already bowled a maiden, while Cummins had delivered a wicket maiden.
There was swing, there was bounce, and there was a bit of uncertainty in the air as well, as it looked as though MI had lost the game in the powerplay.
It was at the Wankhede Stadium, one which MI fans consider a fortress.
But then enter Suryakumar Yadav.
Conditions were still challenging. It was not free-flowing right from the word go. In the first 10 balls of his innings, he had a false shot percentage of 50%, further indicating how well SRH bowled to them.
However, the seventh over bowled by Marco Jansen proved to be the turning point of his innings. He got into his flow with well-timed drives and playing his trademark shot behind square, hitting two fours and two sixes off the over.
From there, there was no turning back. He took on everyone with disdain.
“When the ball stopped seaming, I played all my shots that I practice in the nets,” Surya had said after the match.
It did look like net practice for the local lad, who many felt had been having an indifferent season.
Before May 6 (Monday), by his standards, he had been having a quiet season. He started off with two ducks in his first three innings, and from there, he slammed three fifties in his next five innings. But one felt a big one was just around the corner.
He finally delivered.
SKY – the No. 1 T20 batter in the world – is key to India’s T20 World Cup aspirations. Even if the opposition were to get Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli, they still have Surya to contend with. And as SRH found out, it would take a special effort to dislodge him, even when he was cramping up in the middle.
Amid a disappointing campaign for MI, they needed a few positives. Jasprit Bumrah’s form is certainly a huge plus. Skipper Hardik Pandya has also bowled his full quota of overs in the last three matches, picking up seven wickets. Now, their batting mainstay, a vital cog in the middle order, Suryakumar Yadav, is also slowly picking up pace.
With two more matches to go for MI in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, the five-time champions may not have anything to play for as far as making it to the top four is concerned, but they can certainly get a lot out of it with a massive prize to be won at the end of June. They may have lost the battle, but the war is still up for grabs.
There’s little doubt that SKY is an IPL great, but playing a part in bringing a trophy India have been craving since 2007 could certainly make him immortal.
