[Watch] Suryakumar Yadav receives Player of the Match pin from coach Jayawardene against KKR in IPL 2022
Suryakumar Yadav had a fantastic first individual outing in the IPL 2022 season as he smashed 52 runs off just 36 balls for Mumbai Indians (MI) against his former franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Although MI lost the game comprehensively, they will take Yadav's innings as a huge positive going forward. The 31-year-old walked out to bat when his IPL team was in a spot of bother, but his sensational knock ensured MI posted a competitive total of 161/4.
Here's the video of Suryakumar Yadav receiving the Player of the Match pin from coach Mahela Jayawardene:
Pat Cummins' brilliance overshadows Suryakumar Yadav's class
Initially, Suryakumar Yadav was struggling to time the ball and at one point, had faced 17 balls for his ten runs. However, after the wicket of Ishan Kishan, the 31-year-old realized that he had to shift the momentum back in MI's favor to get to a fighting total.
He got great help from young Tilak Varma at the other end. The southpaw is turning out to be one of the finds of the tournament as he countered the spin threat of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy with ease. Varma's counter-attack helped Yadav get that extra bit of time to settle himself.
MI exploded in the last five overs, thanks to some fine hitting from the two batters as well as Kieron Pollard. 162 looked to be a good target on a wicket that appeared a bit sticky. The MI bowlers also started well and kept picking wickets at regular intervals.
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Pat Cummins 😱😱
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With 61 runs needed off 41 balls, it was still anybody's game and MI had their tails up having just got the wicket of the dangerous Andre Russell. But Rohit Sharma and his men were clearly not expecting a whirlwind knock from Pat Cummins.
The all-rounder smashed the joint fastest IPL fifty and plundered Daniel Sams for 35 runs in his over, taking KKR home comfortably with four wickets to spare. MI have a lot to think about, but with limited options on the bench, it will be interesting to see how the five-time IPL champions keep their campaign alive.