Suryakumar Yadav of Mumbai Indians (MI) scored his maiden IPL century against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 57 of IPL 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday, May 12.
Suryakumar and Kohli have a great friendship both on and off the pitch. The former RCB skipper transcended IPL boundaries to leave a sweet message for the Mumbai hitter, after he displayed outstanding form with the bat.
Kohli, who has been quite active on Instagram in recent days, posted a photo of Suryakumar celebrating his ton with the caption:
“Tula Maanla bhau @surya_14kumar (Hat’s off to you).”
Suryakumar Yadav hit an unbeaten 103 off 49 balls at a strike rate of 210.20, including 11 boundaries and 6 sixes. During his power-packed performance, the right-handed batsman took GT bowlers to the cleaners and helped MI achieve another 200+ total this year.
For those who are unfamiliar, the 32-year-old struggled with the bat in his first few matches this season. After his half-century against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), he has not looked back. He recently hit an unbeaten 83 off 35 balls as MI chased down 200 with 3.3 overs to spare against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Suryakumar Yadav has scored 479 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 190.83, including a century and four half-centuries. He will now try to lead MI to their sixth IPL title.
It is worth noting that MI retained Yadav for an ₹8 crore ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction. Last season, the Mumbai batsman scored 258 runs in 10 matches.
Suryakumar Yadav’s knock helped MI set a 219-run target
For the Gujarat Titans, Rashid Khan emerged as the pick of the bowlers, returning with figures of 4/30, while Mohit Sharma bagged a solitary wicket.
Suryakumar Yadav’s amazing batting effort enabled the Mumbai Indians to set a difficult 219-run target for the reigning champions Gujarat Titans. Aside from Yadav’s heroics, skipper Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Vishnu Vinod each contributed 29, 31, and 30 runs.
Rashid Khan was the standout of the bowlers for GT, registering the figures of 4/30. Mohit Sharma also took one wicket.