"Who hits like that" - Aakash Chopra picks Suryakumar Yadav as his MVP for Mumbai Indians' IPL 2023 win vs RCB
Aakash Chopra has picked Suryakumar Yadav as his most valuable player (MVP) in the Mumbai Indians' (MI) IPL 2023 win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
RCB set MI a challenging 200-run target after being asked to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, May 9. Suryakumar then smoked 83 off 35 balls to help the home team chase down the target with six wickets and 21 deliveries to spare to climb into third position in the points table.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra heaped praise on Suryakumar Yadav for his devastating knock, saying:
"In my opinion, no one else can be the most valuable player - 83 runs off 35 balls - who hits like that. When Suryakumar Yadav starts hitting, the opposition team is eclipsed."
The former Indian opener was in awe of the Mumbai Indians batter's unique strokeplay, stating:
"The sort of shots he plays, I said it last time sitting here itself, he should patent his shots, take a copyright. When he started hitting, Suryakumar Yadav was absolutely stellar."
Suryakumar smashed seven fours and six sixes during his 83-run knock. He strung together a 140-run third-wicket partnership with Nehal Wadhera (52* off 34) in just 10.4 overs to finish the match as a contest.
"They converted a mountain into a molehill" - Aakash Chopra on Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera's partnership
![Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera joined hands when MI were in a spot of bother at 52/2. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/05/c9661-16836895525157-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Suryakumar and Wadhera made a difficult task look very easy, elaborating:
"Nehal Wadhera was there with him for sure. He made up for the catch he dropped. He has hit two consecutive half-centuries. They won in a canter. If you win in 16.3 overs with lots of wickets to spare, they made a 200-total look tiny. They converted a mountain into a molehill."
Speaking about the start of the Mumbai Indians innings, the cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that while Ishan Kishan played a blazing knock, Rohit Sharma endured another failure, observing:
"When it was Mumbai's turn to bat, Ishan Kishan started hitting. He kept hitting sixes while standing upright just like he did against Punjab. Ishan has got his form but Rohit does not have form at all. He has single-digit scores in his last five innings."
Kishan smashed 42 runs off 21 balls, a knock studded with four fours and as many maximums. Rohit managed just seven runs before he was given out lbw by the third umpire off Wanindu Hasaranga's bowling.