IPL: "Wanted to continue left-right hand combination, but Surya wanted to go": MI skipper Rohit after win over GT
May 13, 2023
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 13 : Following his side's 27-run win over Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma lauded batter Suryakumar Yadav for his confidence, saying that he wanted to come out to bat despite the team wanting to keep a left hand-right hand combination going.
Rashid Khan's valiant knock of 79 was insufficient as Mumbai Indians registered a 27-run victory against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Maharashtra's Mumbai on Friday.
"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 and in this format, you have to do that, great bowling effort from our bowlers. The guy (Suryakumar Yadav) 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 is the kind of confidence he has and that rubs off on others. Every game he wants to start fresh and does not look back at the previous game. Sometimes you can sit back and feel proud about what you have done but that is not the case with him," said Rohit in a post-match presentation.
Being put to bat first by GT, MI put up 218/5 on the board in their 20 overs. Openers Ishan Kishan (31 off 20 balls) and skipper Rohit Sharma (29 off 18 balls) provided a quick start with a quick 61-run opening stand.
However, Rashid Khan removed the openers and Nehal Wadhera (15) to reduce MI to 88/3. From there, it was a 'Suryakukar Yadav show'. He put on a 65-run stand for the fourth wicket with Vishnu Vinod (30 off 20 balls). Suryakumar ended up scoring his maiden IPL century, a knock of 103* in 49 balls with 11 fours and six sixes.
Rashid Khan (4/30) was the pick of the bowlers for GT. Mohit Sharma got a wicket as well.
Chasing 219, GT lost wickets right from the start. They were reduced to 55/5, despite a knock of 29 runs from Vijay Shankar. But a partnership of 45 runs between David Miller (41 in 26 balls) and Rahul Tewatia (14 in 13 balls) helped GT reach three figures.
Following their dismissal, it was Rashid Khan who kept the fight going. Even if the side looked out of the contest, his sixes helped in lowering the margin and did not let his side's net run rate take a hit.
The Afghan all-rounder slammed 79* in just 32 balls, consisting of three fours and 10 sixes. He put on an 88-run stand for the ninth wicket with Alzarri Joseph (7*) to take GT to 191/8 in their 20 overs. MI won the match by 27 runs.
Akash Madhwal (3/31) was the pick of the bowlers for MI. Piyush Chawla (2/36) also continued his impressive run in IPL 2023. Jason Behrendorff got a wicket as well.
Suryakumar won the 'Man of the Match' award for his match-winning century.
With this win, MI is in the third position in the points table with seven wins and five losses. They have a total of 12 points. GT is still at the top with eight wins and four losses. They have a total of 16 points.
