Mumbai Indians batter Suryakumar Yadav was in sensational form in match no. 57 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, as he kept toying with the Gujarat Titans bowling attack on his way to scoring an astonishing hundred. It was also Suryakumar's maiden IPL century. Mumbai Indians posted a massive total of 218, courtesy Surya's hammering knock of 103 off 49 balls which had 11 fours and six maximums in it. SKY finished with a staggering strike rate 210.20.
Post-match, MI skipper Rohit Sharma lauded the 32-year-old for his confidence and skills, and also revealed how he rejected his team's batting plans. "Honestly, it's just the confidence Surya has got. At the start of the tournament, we were debating if we need a left-right combination, Surya said no, 'I want to go in'," he said. (EXPLAINED: IPL 2023 Playoffs Qualification Scenario For RCB, KKR, PBKS, SRH, DC After MI Beat GT)
"That's the kind of confidence he brings and it rubs off on the guys who are batting with him. There's no looking back. Good thing is every game he's wanting to start fresh. Which is nice for a cricketer to think like that. Sometimes you can sit back and be very proud about it, but that's not the case with him," he further added.
Coach all praise for SKY
Suryakumar`s knock reduced Rashid`s counter-attacking knock and his four-wicket haul to a mere footnote, which got him praise from Kapoor. "We all know that Rashid is a top-class player. There is no doubt about it and people look at him as a spinner, but he has proven that he is a top all-rounder at least in this format. Till right now, he didn`t have to bat. I think he has batted just one ball before this game."
"Last year, he won a few games for us with his batting. First time this year, he got a decent number of deliveries to face and he almost pulled it off for us. If we had got a few good overs upfront, we would have got closer to the target," he added.
Asked on what makes Rashid different from other leg-spinners in the current game, Kapoor, a former India spinner, explained, "He is a different spinner altogether. Like we had Anil Kumble. Rashid depends mostly on his speed and his length. That is quite different from other spinners."
"Because of the speed, he is able to skid the ball onto the bat. But he knows which wickets to bowl slower, so that he can extract some turn. His main weapon is googly as we all know. He studies the wicket before the match and decides what lengths he has to bowl on those wickets," he concluded.
Gujarat`s next match in IPL 2023 will be against Sunrisers Hyderabad at their home ground, Narendra Modi Stadium, on Monday.
