Surya! Surya! The crowd could not stop chanting as the top-ranked T20I batter, Suryakumar Yadav got to his maiden IPL ton with a six on the final ball of the innings.
The batter who began his IPL season with a duck has come a long way to script a piece of his own history.
Surya took to the crease after the fall of skipper Rohit’s wicket and in just 13 overs, the 32-year-old star smashed his maiden IPL hundred in nearly half the deliveries.
As wickets kept tumbling at the other end, Surya stood his ground and clobbered the Gujarat bowlers for 11 fours and 6 sixes.
Despite Rashid Khan’s 4-wicket haul, it was Surya’s innings at the Wankhede that shone brighter, powering MI to a mammoth 218. The quick ton is also the first by an MI player at the iconic stadium since 2011.
But Surya’s journey has not been all sunshine and rainbows. The batter began his IPL on a low note, unable to find his momentum.
His poor form had carried over into the IPL from the India-Australia series earlier in the summer, drawing flak from all corners of the cricketing world.
But as the saying goes, all good things come to those who wait. Surya struck form against KKR at Wankhede on April 16 and has not looked back ever since.
In the 5-time champions’ last game against Bangalore, it was Surya who guided the team to victory with a 35-ball-83 in Mumbai.
And now he has managed to etch his name in the record books with yet another special knock.