The unflappable Suryakumar waits for his moment

There are two versions of Virat Kohli in the field: loaded and loaded max. It was the last avatar he had worn on Wednesday against the Mumbai Indians. In his own words, the “intensity was high”. Unsurprisingly, when Suryakumar Yadav inside made a cut and Kohli lunged to stop him at a backward point, some snide words were thrown at the batter. “Suddenly there are inside edges, guys … Classy player … They will run two by two, two easy.”

Suryakumar no longer gets into fistfights, breaks glasses, or launches abuse. As he says, he is “meditating” these days. Then, he just nodded his head, shook his shoulders, and creaked his head sideways.

It is an activation movement that you have also performed in the past. Whether the team has won or lost, for a pretty good period thereafter, it has featured a more dangerous version of its hitting, almost always. Undeterred by the screeching, he held firm to the task at hand, to ensure he remained undefeated and lead the team beyond the finish line.

“We always talk about the top four hitters hitting until the end, if we’re chasing, and winning the game for us,” Kieron Pollard said after Suryakumar hit an undefeated 43-ball 79 to help the Mumbai Indians to a crucial 5. – wicket wins against Royal Challengers Bangalore. “He’s done it most of the time. The last couple of times, he gave it away, but you keep learning each and every time.”

Even though Suryakumar had gone undefeated in a successful chase run earlier in the season, it was consistency that he craved. After all, it was only two days ago that the Indian selectors, who had chosen four No. 3s from the IPL teams, had overlooked it for the Australia tour. “I have realized that when I follow behind things, it will continue to go far,” Suryakumar had said a few days ago about the frustration of losing the top of India. “If I think about the goal, the process completely fails. My dad is always very anxious every time a team is announced. I have asked him to relax. The last two or three years I have enjoyed hitting and something big is around the corner. from the corner. corner. ”

It’s not as if the innings, while masterfully marked on a tricky surface, would make a difference to his national ambition right now, but it was a reminder of his presence amid the hitting riches that exist. Nothing more emphatic than his favorite shot of the night: the drive over cover for a six from Yuzvendra Chahal’s prized delivery (thrown outside) that has caught several batters in a net. It was both a testament to his skill and to the improvement of the offside game that he has insisted on throughout the tournament.

Aside from the sweep, his drives and lifts through the covers were his most productive shots of the day, one of which included his other favorite shot of the innings: a back foot kick in the region off Dale Steyn. Even when the ball was held on the field, especially the crossed clinchers, and the other batsmen struggled to control the pace of the wicket, Suryakumar’s tackles lacked fluidity. His teammates kept falling after brief appearances, finding no time in his attempts to hit the big shots, but he saw the chase with five balls to spare before calmly removing his helmet and gesturing ‘Keep calm, I’m there’ at the dugout.

“I just wanted to finish the game and that happened fortunately,” Suryakumar said. “When we started the tournament, the team management and Rohit [Sharma] He came up to me and said, ‘I think you’ve played enough cricket. It’s about time you got deep into the game and hit as long as possible. It provides a good platform for the team and it will be good for you. ” I really wanted to do it and I’m very happy. ”

He may not travel to Australia, but it’s not a performance that has missed the attention of Ravi Shastri, the Indian head coach, let alone the national captain who was on the receiving end of his aesthetically pleasing onslaught. After his innings against RCB, Shastri sent him a note of calm on Twitter: “Surya Namaskar. Stay strong and patient, Suryakumar Yadav.”

Suryakumar may have embraced the virtues of patience lately, but even if the streak of anger exists, the Mumbai Indians are not complaining. “He’s taking constructive criticism really well because he wants to do so well and he showed his class how well he can hit,” Pollard said. “Deep down there is a burning desire to wear that blue for India. He continues to show that consistency which is all he can do as an individual.

“I hope he continues to get his bat talking and continues to score runs for us. Hopefully that brings us to the end. For me, he just keeps getting better and things keep happening. Again, like any individual, he needs to be consistent and successful. At some point, you will be rewarded. Nothing happens before it is time. ”