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Suryakumar Yadav (left) and AB de Villiers (BCCI Photo)
Suryakumar Yadav has been a consistent performer for Mumbai Indians and recently scored an entertaining half-century against RCB.
Legendary India spinner Harbhajan Singh has some high praise for Suryakumar Yadav following the Mumbai Indians batter’s sublime show in Wednesday’s IPL 2024 game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
During the run chase, Suryakumar produced a blistering half-century to bounce back after registering a duck in his first match of the season.
The MI superstar scored a 17-ball fifty at the Wankhede Stadium.
Harbhajan drew comparison between Suryakumar and South Africa batting icon AB de Villiers.
“When Suryakumar shines, no one can survive. We have all seen AB de Villiers; unbelievable player. But when I see this guy, I think he is a better version of AB de Villiers,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
Harbhajan further says he’s happy that he did not have to face Suryakumar on the cricket pitch.
“I have never seen someone dominating like the way Suryakumar does. Unbelievable. Where do you bowl to him? I am so glad I am not playing cricket now. At this age, where do bowl to this guy?” he said.
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Harbhajan is an IPL legend himself, having played over 163 games in the tournament for several franchises.
He was also an integral part of the Mumbai Indians from 2008 to 2017 before departing for the Chennai Super Kings and eventually retiring in 2021. He has bagged a total of 150 wickets in 163 IPL games and has an economy of 7.08.
Five-time IPL champions MI won the toss and chose to bowl first against RCB in Mumbai.
The Faf du Plessis-led RCB lost Virat Kohli early who added three runs in nine balls. He was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah on the third ball of the second over.
Bumrah ace pacer scalped four more wickets on the night. Despite his five-wicket haul, RCB posted a solid 196-run total.
Players like Du Plessis, Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik smashed a fifty each for the visitors.
MI kicked off the run chase with some lighting start from Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma. The hosts lost their first wicket in the eighth over when Akash Deep dismissed Kishan who scored a superb fifty.
That was when Suryakumar walked in and struck 52 off 19 balls. His brilliant knock helped the Hardik Pandya-led side reach the total within 15.3 overs, winning the match by seven wickets.