South Africa pacer demands Suryakumar Yadav’s DNA test after MI star equals Rahul, goes a step closer to Rohit, Kohli
Suryakumar Yadav displayed his class with a blistering century against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League match on Monday at Wankhede Stadium.
Chasing the 174-run target, Suryakumar (102*) stood tall and smashed his second IPL century off 51 balls. The flamboyant batter smashed 12 fours and 6 sixes as he enthralled the fans at Wankhede.
Mumbai Indians lost the top early in the moderate chase with Rohit Sharma (4), Ishan Kishan (9) and Naman Dhir (0) back in the hut with only 31 runs on the scoreboard. However, Suryakumar eased off the pressure with his 360-degree shot-making. He mistimed a couple of shots, but everything went his way as he made sure he took Mumbai over the line to keep them alive in the playoffs race. He finished his century with the winning shot over deep extra cover.
He also became the second Mumbai Indians batter after Rohit to hit 2 IPL centuries.
Meanwhile, he also equalled the tally of KL Rahul and Ruturaj Gaikwad in most T20 centuries by an Indian.
Most hundreds in T20s by an Indian
9 – Virat Kohli
8 – Rohit Sharma
6 – Ruturaj Gaikwad
6 – KL Rahul
6 – Suryakumar Yadav
The cricket fraternity was highly impressed with Suryakumar’s knock, which came at the right time ahead of the T20 World Cup.
What’s in Suryakumar Yadav’s DNA?
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan hailed Suryakumar’s commitment and skill.
“Last game Surya Kumar Yadav scored half century and at the start till 15 balls he was literally playing with 100 strike rate and end up scoring at 160. Today also started responsibly. Commitment and skill,” he wrote.
Mohammad Kaif also heaped praise on Surya for showing strong character and making a big statement by smashing Pat Cummins ahead of T20 World Cup.
“Surya’s match-winning 100 for struggling MI is show of character. By taking on Cummins before the World T20, he has made a strong statement,” Kaif wrote on X.
Former RCB paceman Wayne Parnell was also in awe of Suryakumar’s abilities with the bat. The South African pacer said a DNA test must be done to determine how good Surya is in the T20 format.
“Has anyone ever done a DNA test on @surya_14kumar? This guy is DIFFERENT, different,” he wrote.
Joining forces inside the powerplay with MI left reeling at 31 for three, the pair of Suryakumar and Tilak Varma (37 not out off 32) did a superb recovery job with a 143-run unbeaten stand to script a comprehensive 7-win victory with 22 balls to spare.
Surya showed glimpses of his brilliance earlier in the tournament, with three half-centuries, but he looked in control and smashed the SRH bowlers all around the park to convert his start into an unbeaten century.