On Monday, winning the match with 7 wickets, Mumbai is still standing strong in the IPL as a contender. Despite losing, Sunrisers Hyderabad holds 12 points. They rank fourth on the points table. Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings, and Lucknow – all three teams have 12 points.
Pat Cummins’ team, after losing in Wankhede, was delayed in reaching the playoffs. This IPL season saw Mumbai’s resurgence. Captain Hardik Pandya returned to form after a long time. Holding the ball on Monday, he took three wickets, the controversial Mumbai captain.
However, the match belonged to Suryakumar Yadav. Playing a phenomenal inning of 102 runs undefeated in just 51 balls, he smashed 12 fours and 6 sixes. With Suryakumar’s rise in Wankhede, the sunset occurred in Hyderabad.
The T20 World Cup is on the horizon. But Rohit Sharma’s concerns are alleviated by Suryakumar Yadav’s performance. He had been out of the field for a long time due to injury. He couldn’t even make it to the IPL initially.
But he lifted Mumbai from dire circumstances this day. He scored unbeaten with 16 balls remaining. Surging with confidence, Suryakumar played aggressively in the match.
Suryakumar is known as ‘Sky’ in domestic cricket. His acquaintances say if he plays well, he can touch the sky. His mentor Khodadad Yazdegardi says, there’s a mid-on, mid-off in front of the wicket. But Suryakumar has shown that there can be mid-on, mid-off behind the wicket as well.
The fine leg to third man region is Surya’s mid-on-mid-off. With this area, Surya skillfully sent the ball for boundaries this day. At the end of the match, he was heard saying, ‘I fielded 20 overs for the first time after December 14. Batted like I did in the 18th over. I’m feeling good.’
Surya plays with a smile worth a thousand watts. It’s for this reason that Hardik Pandya smiles. Charged up in Wankhede. This scene was lost in the IPL’s loss. Suryakumar Yadav returned to bat like a magician one night. Although Mumbai Indians still have a long way to go.
Whether Mumbai will reach the playoffs is yet to be seen. The road is undoubtedly tough. But Suryakumar Yadav has spread pure oxygen in Mumbai’s dressing room for Monday. After four matches, Mumbai won.
The task wasn’t easy for Mumbai. Winning the toss, Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya sent Hyderabad to bat first. Hyderabad has climbed the Everest of runs in this IPL. They scored 173 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs.
Although Michael Clarke had earlier said, there are almost 200 runs on this pitch. The former Aussie captain didn’t make any mistake. All Hyderabad batters were brilliant.
Mumbai bowlers took advantage of the Wankhede pitch. Hyderabad batters couldn’t time the ball well. Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets for 31 runs. He also hinted at a return to form. Piyush Chawla also took three wickets. Hyderabad lost wickets at regular intervals. Head scored the most runs in their innings (48). Others couldn’t ignite. Towards the end, Kamin (35) tried to increase the runs.
To chase Hyderabad’s runs, Mumbai started by losing their own wickets. Ishan Kishan (9), Rohit Sharma (4), and Namon Dheer (0) quickly returned to the dugout. Mumbai was in trouble then.
The scoreboard showed Mumbai’s score at 31 for three wickets. Just like in previous matches, Mumbai seemed to be faltering. But Surya took charge of the match in Mumbai’s dressing room. He said, ‘We lost three wickets. I had to stay till the end.’
Surya did just that. He was accompanied by Tilak Varma (37*). Meanwhile, the wind started to blow heavy. Suryakumar adopted a different avatar. Wankhede’s pitch was familiar to him. He practiced all the impossible shots in practice.
This day, Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, wherever they placed the ball, he sent it flying. They couldn’t contain Surya’s storm. After this innings, fans will also be hopeful for Surya in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Suryakumar Yadav has begun showing dreams.
