Suryakumar’s sweet gesture wins hearts, reveals story behind dedicating POTM award to his wife

MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians’ dynamic Suryakumar Yadav’s “sweet” gesture won hearts after he dedicated his Player of the Match award to his wife, Devisha Shetty, following their commanding performance against Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League.

Mumbai raced away with the last playoff spot at the cost of Delhi after stamping its authority with an emphatic 59-run victory over the Capitals in their home den. Suryakumar was fundamental with his sizzling 73* from 43 deliveries that lifted Mumbai to a competitive 180/5 on a Wankhede strip that wasn’t true to its high-scoring nature.

With Mitchell Santner and Jasprit Bumrah running rampant, Delhi never threatened to pose a challenge to Mumbai throughout their feeble attempts to stay alive in the playoffs.

Lights, camera, SIXES!

Surya Kumar Yadav is lighting up Wankhede in his own classical way

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Moments after Mumbai’s victory lap, it rained cats and dogs at Wankhede. Suryakumar, with an umbrella in his hand, arrived at the presentation ceremony to accept his POTM award. He shared a heartwarming story that made his award “special”.

“It’s been 13 games now. My wife told me a sweet story today. She said you’ve got all the awards except MoM. This award is special today. From the team’s point of view, the knock was important, and also, this trophy is for her. She waits for such moments and we celebrate it obviously, looking forward to it,” Suryakumar said in the post-match presentation.

Mumbai withered at 58/3 after losing its top-order in a cluster. Suyrakumar delivered a knock riddled with luck to change Mumbai’s fate. He stayed till the end, patiently waiting for the right moment to make DC bowlers perish and eventually found it in the last over.

Naman Dhir set the tempo for the explosive batter in the penultimate over. With his swashbuckling display, he reeled off two fours and as many sixes to garner 27 runs off Mukesh Kumar, who enjoyed a decent outing before that point.

Suryakumar was a walking nightmare for Dushmantha Chameera as he finished things off with two boundaries and the same number of sixes to lift Mumbai to a position of dominance. For the 34-year-old, Naman’s exploits in the 19th over and the energy that he “shared” with him were the turning point of the fixture.

“It was important for a single batter to bat till the end. We knew there was one over of 15-20 runs somewhere, so we had to wait till the end. The way Naman came in and shared that energy with me was also a turning point,” he concluded.

Following Mumbai’s win, the playoffs seats are confirmed with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings being the remaining three sides. The next group stage clashes will determine which spot these four sides will occupy in the standings before the playoffs. (ANI)