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Standing at the non-striker's end, Ryan Rickelton was left gobsmacked after witnessing Suryakumar Yadav execute his trademark shot, something he is not willing to pull off anytime soon.
During the Mumbai Indians encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede on Monday, Suryakumar made his presence felt with a pulsating cameo towards the end. In a low-scoring encounter, Mumbai were asked to chase down 117 by the Knight Riders. Rickelton had done most of the job by the time Suryakumar arrived at the crease. On his second delivery of the night, Suryakumar effortlessly unleashed his trademark shot. Without wasting much time, he got across the line and scooped it over the fine-leg boundary straight into the stand. "I just said to Quinny that SKY is a joke, stuff that I can't do, stuff that I can't dream of. He has played that shot many a time, I'm not going to try it but I'm glad that he is in our team," Rickelton said after the match. Rickelton arrived for his maiden stint in the IPL and laboured to adjust to the demanding conditions of India. He was a no-show for MI in their first two games of the season, registering scores of 13(7) and 6(9). As the five-time champions returned to their home venue while seeking their first win of the season, Rickelton had researched enough to get an idea of what Wankhede's surface would offer. While Suryakumar went about his business and executed his shots to perfection, Rickelton had done his job and returned unbeaten on 62(41), after striking the most fours and sixes by any player across both teams. "I took my time. I just had to lay bat on it. To be honest, the ball was moving around, lucky to have got some runs. Chatting to the guys back in South Africa about the Wankhede, does a bit, it's challenging, but looking forward to getting out again and trying to maximise the pace on offer. It's unbelievable. I have never been to the Wankhede before. The crowd turned the stadium blue, definitely going to enjoy my time here," he said. Before a brutal onslaught from MI batters, the bowling unit had laid the foundation for their 8-wicket triumph. Debutant Ashwani Kumar left the Knights bamboozled with his four-wicket haul. The 23-year-old made his IPL debut a day to remember and returned with figures of 4/24. His wicket pool included established stars featuring skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and hard-hitting Andre Russell. While Ashwani played a starring role, the rest of the bowlers chipped in with valuable contributions to restrict the Knights to 116. "I think they executed really well, but the conditions allowed certain tactics to adjust, the spinners tried to bowl in lengths. I think we bowled phenomenally well to restrict such a team to a low score," he added. (ANI)
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