IPL 2023: In Suryakumar, Mumbai has something precious to fall back on

With a scramble for a place in the playoffs in an enthralling Indian Premier League this season, Suryakumar Yadav's return to his magical best has given Mumbai Indians a shot in the arm.

It's not a done deal yet for any of the 10 teams in the competition.

The battle has been so intense that only three points separate the fourth-placed Lucknow Super Giants (11 points) and the bottom-placed Delhi Capitals (8 points).

It was against this backdrop that the Mumbai Indians stepped on the field against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday.

But in Suryakumar's masterpieces of inventive strokeplay, the five-time champion has something precious to fall back on every time it faces a stiff challenge.

The challenge for Mumbai in front of its home crowd was immense after Bangalore posted a hugely impressive 199 for six on the back of half-centuries from Faf du Plessis (65 off 41 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (68 off 33 balls).

Things could have turned nasty for Mumbai at 52 for two in the fifth over when Ishan Kishan (42 off 21 balls) and skipper Rohit Sharma (7) fell in quick succession.

Walking in at number three, Suryakumar (83, 35 balls, seven fours, six sixes)turned up the heat and soon the explosion of his shots blew the RCB attack away.

His 140-run partnership with Nehal Wadhera (52, 34 balls, four fours, three sixes) off just 64 balls turned a tricky chase into a cake walk as Mumbai recorded the fastest 200-plus chase in the IPL history.

The six-wicket victory that propelled it to the third place in the points table with 12 points was achieved with 21 balls to spare.

A staggering feat for a team whose captain is in the middle of his worst batting crisis, having scored just 12 runs in his last five IPL innings.

A team that suffered yet another blow hours before the match when England pacer Jofra Archer was ruled out of the tournament with another injury crisis.

Amid all the chaos, the team still has Suryakumar, the world's leading batsman in T20 cricket.

The 32-year-old shot-maker has now well and truly recovered from the disastrous start to his IPL 2023 campaign when he was struggling to put bat to ball.

The same ball is now flying off his bat to the distant corners of the cricket ground.

On Tuesday night it was the Wankhede Stadium, his home ground where he spent hours in the early days honing his batting skills.

"What we saw again tonight from Surya was a master-class on how to play T20 cricket. It doesn't matter where he wants to hit, he always finds the gap. He is an extraordinary talent," Tom Moody, the former Australian all-rounder, told Cricinfo.

RCB skipper Du Plessis, who felt his team was at least 20 runs short on a good batting wicket, admitted that it was impossible to stop Suryakumar.

"He's one of the best, when he gets going he's really difficult to bowl too. So many options you can't shut him down," the former South African captain said.

Mumbai will hope now that Suryakumar's bat continues to give sleepless nights to rival captains.

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