"Has anyone ever done a DNA test" - Wayne Parnell on Suryakumar Yadav after his blistering 102* in MI vs SRH IPL 2024 clash
South African pacer Wayne Parnell was in awe of Suryakumar Yadav after his sensational century in the IPL 2024 match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday.
In a tricky chase of 174, MI found themselves in trouble at 31/3 in 4.1 overs at the Wankhede Stadium under lights against a spirited SRH pace attack. Suryakumar Yadav took the onus on himself after the top-order collapse and showed his class.
He started watchfully for a couple of balls before taking Marco Jansen to the cleaners in the seventh over, smashing two sixes and two fours to inject momentum into the innings.
Surya continued in the same vein thereafter and put on a match-winning 143-run unbeaten partnership with Tilak Varma (37*) to take their side over the line in 17.2 overs. The flamboyant batter notched up his second IPL century with the winning hit, which went high over the extra cover region for a six.
After the match, South African left-arm pacer Wayne Parnell was impressed with Suryakumar Yadav's batting performance. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
"Has anyone ever done a DNA test on @surya_14kumar? This guy is DIFFERENT, different."
"I knew that the dew was heavy, and once the seam goes off, it would be easy for a batter to play" - Suryakumar Yadav
Speaking at the post-match presentation after bagging the Player of the Match award, Suryakumar Yadav shed light on his thought process during the chase, saying:
"Someone had to play till the end, and that's what I did. Played for some time - I knew that the dew was heavy, and once the seam goes off, it would be easy for a batter to play. Enjoyed my time. "
He continued:
"It's from the Mumbai School of Arts (his straighter boundaries), I played a lot of first-class cricket for Mumbai, and here at the Wankhede, I know what's the right option when the ball is seaming. When the ball stopped seaming, I played all my shots which I practiced in the nets. The intent would have been the same had I batted in the first innings, it would have been easier, and I'd have gone big, like how I did today."
MI will next face KKR on Saturday (May 11) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.