This year could be a defining one for Suryakumar Yadav's future

Suryakumar Yadav

For a contest that was keenly awaited, especially to move to the top of the table, Mumbai Indians won the mind game against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.

Batting first, the Mumbai openers put on 49 runs with Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma both falling at critical junctures. The depth of the Mumbai batting is one of its strengths and that was as visible as their performances suggest.

Good timing and touch

Suryakumar Yadav has been on the periphery of India selection for a while now. This year could be a defining one for his future. Looking leaner, he reminds me a lot of Damien Martyn, the classy Australian batsman. Timing, touch and balance are qualities that Suryakumar possesses, something that Martyn exhibited. His 47-ball 79, batting through the innings, will give him the self belief that he can bat through without playing the role of a buccaneer that Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard showcase, and yet deliver the runs at an impressive strike rate (168.08). His cultured strokeplay, finding the sweet part of his bat makes T20 appear more in the Vivaldi mode as against rap music. Watching him one realises that there is hope for the touch player in a power game.

The power that Pandya and Pollard exude will always make fans wonder if these two get enough balls but with Rohit and Ishan Kishan perishing early to Shreyas Gopal in a bid to throw him off a length, there was a method to the madness needed. Suryakumar provided that quite admirably.

If there is one area that Mumbai could look at in the composition of the 120 balls, it is the 37 balls they didn't score off which is in fact almost six maiden overs of the allotted 20. Despite that, if one can achieve a 190-plus score, it shows they could raise the bar if the dot balls are addressed.

Kartik Tyagi, the under-19 fast bowler, impressed for the rivals. An action modeled on his hero Brett Lee, he has shown he has the raw material to grow in stature.

Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah just wanted that new ball: Shane Bond

RR's early collapse

What the Royals needed when they batted was a productive power play and key wickets in hand. Steven Smith, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal going in quick succession and a scoreboard reading 12-3 isn't encouraging in a hefty run chase. It required a miracle from Jos Buttler (70), the lone warrior with support from Tom Curran and Rahul Tewatia. Sadly, with a bowling strength like Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, James Pattinson and with tails up, miracles for the batting side with their backs to the wall are more often than not delusional.

Shishir Hattangadi is a former Mumbai Ranji Trophy captain, now CEO of Baroda Cricket Association

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