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Mumbai Indians' dynamic batter Suryakumar Yadav shared his feelings on batting alongside "legend of the game" Rohit Sharma and weighed in on his return to the number three spot, which allowed him to toy with Chennai Super Kings' spin trial during the clash of heavyweights in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
Mumbai coasted along to victory with consummate ease by stamping its authority in Wankhede with a resounding nine-wicket triumph on Sunday. MI gunned down Chennai's mediocre 176/5 with a handful of overs to spare and made a strong case for challenging the rest of the opposition for a spot in the playoffs. Rohit's 76* blitzkrieg and Suryakumar's swashbuckling 68* tore Chennai apart and established Mumbai's supremacy during their pursuit of the 177-run target. After Ryan Rickelton returned to the dressing room after getting his job done, many expected Mumbai to continue with Will Jacks at the number three spot, as they have for the majority of the season. However, to everyone's surprise, Surkyumar walked out to bat with his swagger and mojo to negate Chennai's spin challenge. This was just the second time Suryakumar came out to bat at number three in the ongoing season, having previously done so against Delhi Capitals. "As soon as the coach said you are going at number 3 after powerplay (on when he knew it started to click for him), I was really looking forward to bat today, it was a perfect situation and I was hitting the ball well in the nets also, I felt it is my day and just went out there and express myself and that's what I did today," he said after the match. "They were playing a lot of spinners, it was important to put my hand up and tell them (team management) it is high time I go up the order. Even if it doesn't work, no problem, but let me take my chance," he added. While Suryakumar went about his business with his unique style, Rohit put his raw power on exhibition and effortlessly muscled the ball past the boundary rope. The duo raised an unbeaten 114-run partnership for the second wicket to steer Mumbai to its third victory on the trot. "It gets easier when I bat with him (Rohit). He has been a legend of this game. As soon as I went into bat, there was a little bit of grip on the wicket, but then he told me to just play your shots and enjoy your batting," he said. Throughout his rollicking display, Surykumar tasted success by using the sweep shot and its various variations. The dynamic batter thrived on the high-scoring venue with the sweep shot and made CSK's ball tweakers tilt at the windmills. "I have grown up in the maidaans of Mumbai cricket, when you play a lot local cricket then you play a lot on red soil, so you have to come up with something like that, that's where it has come (the sweep shot) from, rest when you come here (Wankhede) you know what to do," he talked about using sweep shot. Suryakumar didn't waste much time in breaking his shackles and unleashing a fusillade of boundaries to put the pressure back on Chennai's shoulders. He knocked Ravindra Jadeja off the perch by depositing the ball into the stands with a sublime sweep shot. The idea behind taking on Suryakumar was pretty clear as he said, "You can't let him (Jadeja) to come out on top, he has a lot of experience and I had to be ahead of him, that's what we practised yesterday also and happy it came off." (ANI)
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