IPL 2022: Suryakumar Yadav smashes 37-ball 68*, Ravi Shastri doffs his hat to Mumbai Indians batter

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Pune, April 9: India batsman Suryakumar Yadav once again displayed his 360-degree skills as he smashed his second successive half-century on Saturday (April 9) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 here at MCA Stadium, Pune.

The Mumbai Indians' top-order batter showcased his batting ability against Royal Challengers Bangalore and he single-handedly guided his side to a decent total after the top and middle-order witnessed a collapse in the game.

The exceedingly talented right-handed batsman from Mumbai scored an unbeaten 68 off 37 deliveries and helped MI post 151 for 6 in the game. It was his superlative batting effort in the death overs, which ensured MI bowlers had something to defend. From 79 for 6 in 13.2 overs, Surya shifted gears just in time to forge an unbeaten partnership of 72 runs with Jaydev Unadkat.

Surya attacked RCB bowlers at will in the death overs and added 59 runs in the last four overs. He punished every RCB bowler in the slog overs except Harshal Patel. Surya's knock was laced with 5 boundaries and six maximums and hit shots all around the park due to his wide range of shots.

It was a game of contrasts for the Rohit Sharma-led side as it got off to a fabulous start in the powerplay but faltered in the middle overs. The openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma added 46 runs on the board in the first six overs but all hell broke loose in the middle overs. In between the 7th and 15th overs, Mumbai scored 43 runs and lost six wickets but Surya rescued the team from dire straits and provided them with a late impetus.

Lauding Surya's performance against RCB, former India head coach Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports, Cricket Live, "It was an unbelievable performance. He's hit back to back fifties for Mumbai and tonight he played a gem of an innings. Today, it was a special knock because it was uphill, downhill and he took it up. They were 50 for no loss and then slipped to 89/6 and then you end up scoring 71 runs in the last five overs with Surya doing most of the damage. All you got to do when he passes by is do a 'Surya Namaskar."