Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was effusive in his praise for Suryakumar Yadav, who played a brilliant knock against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Wednesday, May 21, at the Wankhede Stadium to take Mumbai Indians (MI) to the playoffs of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
MI lost three wickets inside the first seven overs after being asked to bowl first. The surface seemed to be sluggish, and the DC spinners got the balls to turn. Suryakumar had to bide his time at the crease, and he did so, even as the likes of Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya threw their wickets away in search of quick runs.
In the last two overs, Suryakumar and Naman Dhir smashed Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera all around the park to amass 48 runs. The Indian T20 captain finished unbeaten on 73 off 43, belting seven fours and four sixes. MI reached 180/5 in their 20 overs and eventually won the match by 59 runs to sail into the playoffs.
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While analysing the match, Harbhajan lauded Suryakumar for bailing his team out like he has on several occasions in the past. The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted Suryakumar’s ability to take the game deep, especially in conditions that are not conducive to fluent stroke-making.
“A good player’s sign is that he takes the game deep, and then he has so much belief in himself that if he stays till the end, which he would, he would change the complexion of the game, and we have seen Suryakumar Yadav doing that not once, but thousands of times,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
“He understood the demands of the conditions and took the game deep, and when he got a chance, he opened his arms in such a way that he took the game far away from the opposition. I feel this was the best knock of the entire season. The other innings might have come much quicker, but the bowlers were in the game in today’s conditions,” he added.
