Mumbai's fourth win of the season came on the back of an all-round performance which saw their batsmen setting up a herculean 193-run target and then their bowling unit bowling out Rajasthan Royals for 136.
The hero for Mumbai Indians with the willow happened to be their belligerent strokemaker Surya Kumar Yadav who stroked his way to a whirlwind 79-run knock that helped his team post a daunting 190-plus total on the board. Yadav's quick-fire game changing half ton was laced with eleven fours and two sixes.
Coming out to bat after the early dismissal of Proteas opener Quinton De Kock, Yadav went on a counter attacking mode against the RR bowlers by playing some all-round the wicket. Yadav forged partnerships with is skipper Rohit Sharma and then Hardik Pandya to both anchor the innings and provide the late impetus towards the end.
Yadav who won the Man of the Match for his match winning performance drew praises from all quarters of the cricketing circles and Indian batting great and fellow Mumbaikar joined in the bandwagon to compliment the attacking strokemaker for his game changing knock.
Tendulkar was just as moved with what he saw from Suryakumar as he tweeted: “@surya_14kumar is special and very dangerous because he can play on all sides of the wicket.”
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Suryakumar said that his gut instinct made him feel that a big knock was round the corner from his bat in the match after a few below-par performances.
ALSO READ | RR vs MI, IPL 2020: Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah Shine As Mumbai Indians Thump Rajasthan Royals By 57 Runs At Abu Dhabi
"I felt it (a big knock) was coming in this game, because in the last few games I was finding ways to get out. This time I just wanted to bat till the end. Loving the added responsibility at the top of the order, and I've just been told to play my game and express myself and I did just that. The lockdown helped me with my off-side game rather than just my leg-side pick-up shot," said Yadav.
"The team winning is really satisfying and at that situation, I had to bat till the end to get the team to a perfect total, and then the bowlers came and finished things off," he added.