Suryakumar Yadav smashes maiden IPL century as Mumbai Indians defeat Gujarat Titans by 27 runs
A high-scoring thriller at the iconic Wankhede Stadium culminated with the hosts Mumbai Indians defeating defending champions Gujarat Titans by 27 runs in the 57th match of the IPL 2023.
Hardik Pandya opted to bowl first after winning the toss keeping in mind the flat track of Mumbai which is good for chasing. Mumbai openers Ishan Kishan and skipper Rohit Sharma started off with a bang as the duo smashed 61 runs in the powerplay. It was after a long time Rohit Sharma showed his intent with the bat. He scored 29 runs off 18 before Rashid Khan sent him back with a perfect delivery that went to the slips.
Rashid picked up the wicket of Ishan Kishan in the same over as the southpaw was trapped in front by Rashid Khan in the same over. Suryakumar Yadav, on the other hand, was taking the scoreboard ahead with his hitting ability whereas wickets were falling from the other end. Nehal Wadhera was played on off Rashid in the ninth over, giving the legendary T20 bowler his third wicket of the innings.
One of the highlights of the innings was Vishnu Vinod, who came to bat at number five and played a superb cameo of 30 runs off just 20 balls. He alongside Suryakumar added 65 runs for the fourth wicket which helped Mumbai reach 153 runs in 16 overs.
Now, all eyes were on Suryakumar Yadav who has the ability to change the game at any point and he did that in style by playing excellent unorthodox shots all over the park. He smashed 6 sixes and 11 boundaries and reached his century on the last ball of the innings with an excellent hit over deep square leg.
One of the best shots from his innings came against Mohammad Shami where he intentionally played one over third man for a six. The shot became so popular that even Sachin Tendulkar from the stands was amazed to see that hit.
On the other hand, Gujarat Titans failed badly in their bowling apart from Rashid Khan who picked up a four-fer. Mumbai smashed 218 runs in their 20 overs which is a winning total on any ground if they bowl well.
Gujarat Titans had a terrible start as both the openers with Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill got out on scores of 2 runs and 6 runs respectively. Skipper Hardik Pandya came to bat at number three but went back immediately after hitting just one boundary.
Rashid Khan scored 79 runs against Mumbai Indians on Friday
Vijay Shankar and David Miller played some good strokes but the duo couldn’t stay for a longer time on the pitch. The only positive from the Titans came in the form of Rashid Khan who gave Mumbai Indians some tough time in the middle. The right-arm leggie smashed 10 sixes in his innings of 79 runs which came off just 32 balls. It was a complete all-round effort from the Afghanistan legend but he failed to help his side win the match.
From a bowling point of view, Akash Madhwal and Piyush Chawla were the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai Indians as they picked up five wickets in total. Kumar Kartikeya also picked up two wickets in his 3 overs.
This victory would give Mumbai Indians a lot of confidence as they have moved one step further in the playoffs race. Suryakumar Yadav got the much-deserving player of the match for his splendid batting. The top-notch player has regained his form after failing in the initial games of the ongoing season.
Now, Mumbai Indians will be up against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday whereas Gujarat Titans will play against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday in a bid to extend their lead at the top of the table.
