IPL 2023: Is Suryakumar Yadav's confidence playing a role for other MI players too? Rohit Sharma remarks
IPL 2023: Suryakumar Yadav played a brilliant knock as he struck his maiden competition century against Gujarat Titans in Mumbai on Friday, as Mumbai Indians won. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma feels SKY's confidence influenced other MI players.
FollowFive-time record former champion Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma feels Suryakumar Yadav oozes confidence which rubs off on the other batters in his Indian Premier League (IPL) side. After a slow start to the season, Suryakumar is back to his explosive best. In MI's 27-run win against table-topper defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) on Friday, he blazed away to an unbeaten 103 off just 49 balls, notching his maiden IPL century.
"The guy has got the confidence. We wanted to keep the right-left combination, but SKY came in and said no, he wanted to go in. That kind of confidence has rubbed off on others—he wants to start fresh every game and does not look back at the previous game. Sometimes you can sit back and feel proud, but that is not the case with him," Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
CATCH ALL IPL 2023 UPDATES HERE
Mumbai was on course to a massive win before leg-spinner Rashid Khan smashed a brutal unbeaten 79 off just 32 balls to reduce Gujarat's margin of defeat. "It was an interesting game, especially from our point of view. Happy to get the two points. That was pleasing. Bat first and then come out and defend the total. We kept picking wickets; you have to do that in this format. Great bowling effort from our bowlers," added Rohit.
Suryakumar, who was adjudged the player of the match, was delighted to win the game. Asked if it was his best Twenty20 (T20) innings, Suryakumar, who has three T20I centuries, said: "Can say that. Most importantly, we batted first. At the meeting, we decided to keep the same tempo as when chasing 200-plus. There was a lot of dew even after just 7-8 overs, one side was 75-80 metres, so I was prepared for scooping over the third man or flicking over square leg. I wasn't thinking of going straight."
Known to play outrageous shots, Suryakumar said it is the fruit of his practice and clarity of thought. "There's a lot of practice that goes behind [my 360-degree game], so when I come out to the middle, I am obviously in my mind," he continued.
We lacked execution and heart: Hardik
Barring Rashid, who was sensational with the bat and the ball, table-topper GT performed underwhelming. Skipper Hardik Pandya felt it lost the game because of the lack of execution in all the departments of the game. "We lacked a lot of execution and heart. That cost us the game. The intensity was also flat. Expected things to happen, but everyone knows at this level, it doesn't just happen. You have to make it happen," he felt.
"As a group, we weren't there. In bowling also, we were very flat. Didn't have clear plans or didn't execute. Wicket was very flat, but we gave 25 extra runs. I have spoken enough about him. Rashid picked up four wickets and hit ten sixes with the bat. It felt like only he [Rashid] turned up from our team. The way he batted, the way he bowled it was tremendous. Don't have to try much [after this result]," Pandya said
Hardik praised his India teammate Suryakumar for his sensational innings for MI. "One of the best batters in T20 cricket. You see what can happen if you don't execute your plans. For me, it's essential that, as a bowler, you are clear. I can only set the fields. Losing five wickets and then scoring 129 in the last ten overs," he concluded.
