Cricketer-turned-commentator Mohammad Kaif feels Mumbai Indians never doubted the talent and skillset of Suryakumar Yadav as they backed him right from the start of his stint with the five-time champions. The World No.1 T20 batter was at his absolute best against Rajasthan Royals to help Mumbai Indians register their fourth win in the league stage.
Suryakumar Yadav batted aggressively in the middle over to tilt the game in the favour of the five-time champions and Tim David played a blinder in the end to win the game for the Rohit Sharma-led side. The 32-year-old played a scintillating knock of 55 runs off just 29 runs before being dismissed by Trent Boult in the 16th over mark.
Speaking on Star Sports, Mohammad Kaif hailed Mumbai Indians management for keeping faith in Suryakumar Yadav’s abilities in the shortest format and reckons that SKY once again proved his value against Rajasthan Royals in high octane encounter.
“Mumbai Indians always had faith in Suryakumar Yadav. They have been backing him right from the start and no one had an iota of doubt over his talent and capability. With his knock against RR, he’s proven his worth. SKY has once again proved why he’s rated so highly as a batter. These are good signs for Mumbai Indians.” Mohammad Kaif said
Coming into the IPL, Suryakumar Yadav went through some tough times in International cricket, as he could not score runs against Australia in the ODI series and had a string of low scores in the initial games of the IPL, before making his comeback against Punjab Kings to produce a blistering knock of 57 runs off just 26 balls and producing match-winning performance against RR.
Ishant Sharma Made Full Use Of His Experience And The Knuckle Balls – Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif heaped praise on Ishant Sharma for his brilliant bowling performance against defending champions Gujarat Titans to defend 12 runs in the final overs against Hardik Pandya and Rahul Tewatia in Narendra Modi Stadium.
“Ishant Sharma once again proved experience can’t be bought in the market. He used the slower ones beautifully and tricked Rahul Tewatia with his knuckleball. He made full use of his experience and the knuckle balls he used in the death overs, were simply brilliant.” Mohammad Kaif added.
With the final over heroics by Ishant Sharma, Delhi Capitals registered their third win in the league stage over defending champions Gujarat Titans and will look to continue their winning momentum when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in Arun Jaitley Stadium on May 6.