IPL 2023: Suryakumar Yadav’s freak innings guides MI to big win vs RCB – ‘He reaches for the SKY’

Suryakumar Yadav is back and how. At Wankhede against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Suryakumar Yadav scored a phenomenal 83 off 35 balls to guide Mumbai Indians to a clinical six wicket win on Tuesday.

Not long ago, there were questions about the top-ranked T20I ICC batter in the world and his form in white-ball cricket. But after struggling in the initial few games, he has turned it around in the last six innings, scoring runs at his fluent best.

Today, his knock was laced with seven fours and six sixes, striking at 237.14. He built a solid 140-run partnership with Nehal Wadhera after MI were reduced to 52/2 in 5 overs. The innings started with Wadhera taking on the aggressor’s role but once Yadav began, everyone took a back seat to watch what was a freak innings.

As a result, MI chased down 200 in 16.3 overs. With this win, MI climbed from the eighth to the third spot in the points table while RCB are now seventh.

“He is one of the best isn’t he?” Faf Du Plessis, who leads the tournament batting chart with 576 runs, said of Suryakumar.

“When he gets going he’s really difficult to bowl to. So many options you can’t shut him down. One of the greats of the game at the moment.”

Suryakumar, who had a bad start to the season before hitting form, said: “Much needed from team’s point of view. I am very happy to win a home game like this.”

Opener Ishan Kishan hit a quick-fire 42 but Mumbai slipped to 52-2 when skipper Rohit Sharma fell for seven to extend his batting slump.

However, Suryakumar and the left-handed Wadhera soon revived the chase and took the attack to the opposition.

Once settled, Suryakumar burst into life to reach his 50 in 26 balls and kept up the charge with a string of sixes and fours.

Suryakumar fell with his team needing eight more to win and Tim David got out for a duck, but Wadhera hit the winning six to bring up his fifty.

Earlier the in-form Du Plessis survived a dropped catch on nought before he hit back and registered his sixth half-century of the season.

England’s Chris Jordan had a bruising introduction with his first two overs leaking 31 runs, hours after Mumbai announced his inclusion in place of the injured Jofra Archer, who flew back home to “focus on his rehabilitation”.

Maxwell greeted Jordan with two sixes in his opening over but the pace bowler pulled things back in his final two and picked up the wicket of Dinesh Karthik (30).

Australia’s left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff struck early with two wickets including that of Virat Kohli for one, as he returned figures of 3-36.

At 16-2, Du Plessis and Maxwell combined to punish the Mumbai attack, hitting seven sixes between them in their fourth century partnership of the season.

However, Bangalore’s 199/6 ended up looking like a really a small total even as skipper Faf du Plessis (65) and Glenn Maxwell (68) lit up the first innings.

Here’s a look at the reactions to the knock:

Here’s a look at the points table as MI zoomed up to third:

With inputs from AFP