Mohali: In Mumbai Indians’ successful chase of 215 against Punjab Kings, Suryakumar Yadav was all class scoring a whirlwind 66 off 31 balls. The right-handed batter, coming in as an Impact Player, hit eight fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 212.9.
Suryakumar left no area untouched with his trademark innovative shots while sharing a match-winning partnership of 116 for the third wicket with Ishan Kishan to help Mumbai chase down 215 with seven balls to spare.
Asked about his preparations for acing tough scenarios, Yadav said, “I always prepare for these situations, if I have to get 12 or 14 runs an over, what are the shots I can play? So when I am sitting at the innings break or when the batters before me are batting that’s what I think about.”
Suryakumar further said he aimed to support Kishan, who slammed 75 off 41 balls with seven fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 182.93.
“Till now I haven’t thought about it. Unless it’s the second-last or 17th or 18th over. My job was just to support Kishan who was batting well.”
“We reversed our roles. I actually don’t have that power game. I like to time the ball and find gaps. But really happy that partnership was in a winning cause.”
Suryakumar signed off by saying he should have finished off the chase as he did previously in the tournament. Though the duo fell in the backend of the chase, Tilak Varma and Tim David kept the attack going to complete the chase with seven balls to spare.
“Really happy that we ended up on the winning side but at the same time I felt that I should have finished the game again like the last time. When their innings ended, we knew we had to bat with positive intent. I just wanted to give support to Kishan who was playing with a good strike ‘ate.”
Mumbai’s next game in IPL 2023 will be against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium Saturday afternoon.
IANS