During the 47th game of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) surprised one and all with their selections for the upcoming tour of Australia.
Out of all the decisions, the most prominent ones was leaving out Mumbai Indians’ star batsman Surya Kumar Yadav for the Australian tour.
The Mumbai cricketer has been doing the hard yards in the domestic circuit and ‘A’ tours for several years now.
After being left out of the Indian squad for Australia, SK Yadav had a point or two to prove in the game against Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
MI’s stand-in captain Kieron Pollard won the toss and opted to field first and restricted RCB to a par score of 164/6.
The formidable MI bowling unit took control brilliantly in the game, after conceding 88 runs and clinching just one wicket in the first 10 overs.
Devdutt Padikkal starred for RCB up-front with his flambouyant knock of 74 runs which came off just 45 deliveries. The Karnataka batter treated spectators with 12 crisp strokes to the boundary and one over it.
The foundation was laid perfectly for AB de Villiers (15 off 12) and Virat Kohli (9 off 14), with 8 overs left. However, Jasprit Bumrah (3/14) inspired the turnaround for MI with his lethal spell. He picked three key wickets in the middle overs, which derailed RCB’s proceedings.
In the last four overs, RCB could only accumulate 30 runs and lost four wickets. Pollard (1/5), Rahul Chahar (1/43) and Trent Boult (1/40) also chipped in with a wicket each.
Chasing a tricky score 165, Quinton de Kock (18 off 19) and Ishan Kishan (25 off 19) gave a steady start for their team. It all spiced up with the combination Mohammed Siraj (2/28) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/27), who went deep into MI’s batting order by picking up four wickets amongst themselves.
By the 14th over, MI were in a spot of bother, with the score reading at 107/4 and Krunal Pandya (10 off 10) back in the hut.
Moreover, ‘Man of the Match’ Yadav steered MI to victory with his blistering knock of 79, which came off 43 deliveries. At a strike-rate of 183, SKY smashed ten boundaries and three sixes during his knock. His gesture after winning the match for his side will be remembered for a long time as a statement to selectors and his critics.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indians – 166/5 in 19.1 overs (Yadav 79*, Siraj 2/28) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore – (Padikkal 74, Bumrah 3/14) by 5 wickets.
0 Comments