IPL 2023: Harsha Bhogle explains why MI batter Suryakumar Yadav is ‘Laxman of T20 cricket’

Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle heaped praises on Suryakumar Yadav after his blistering knock of 83 runs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which helped Mumbai Indians (MI) to register a comprehensive win at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, May 9.

After a shaky start to his IPL 2023 campaign, Suryakumar has been performing exceptionally well in recent games. In the past few matches, the 32-year-old batter has scored three half-centuries, all of which played significant roles in MI’s successful chases.

Suryakumar has accumulated 376 runs in 11 matches for MI this season, boasting an impressive average of 34.18 and a phenomenal strike rate of 186.14. Notably, in the recent match against RCB, he formed a 140-run partnership with Nehal Wadhera off just 66 balls, enabling MI to comfortably achieve a target of 200 runs with 21 balls remaining and six wickets in hand.

“I said Nehal, let’s hit it hard and hit it into the gaps and run hard. Your practice has to be the same what you intend to do in matches,” said Suryakumar after winning the Player of the Match award. “I know where my runs are. We have open net sessions. I know my game. I don’t do anything different.”

Meanwhile, Bhogle lavished rich praises on the Mumbai cricketer and called him the ‘Laxman of T20 cricket’. According to Bhogle, Laxman demonstrated a distinct batting style, while Suryakumar’s finesse and skill remind him of the former Indian great.

Laxman was renowned for his graceful and effortless batting technique, which played a pivotal role in leading India to numerous remarkable victories in Test cricket. As a middle-order batsman, he had a remarkable ability to rescue India from challenging situations with his majestic batting, often leaving the opposing team bewildered and struggling to keep up.

“Very peculiar and I don’t know why – their [MI] games are chocolate and cheese but the artistry with which he [SKY] bats he seems Laxman of T20,” Bhogle said on Cricbuzz after the MI vs RCB contest. “When Laxman played T20, I remember once I was on-air and he was slogging and I thought Lata Mangeshkar is singing rock ‘n’ roll,” added the renowned commentator.

With the six-wicket victory over RCB, Rohit Sharma’s MI have moved to the third spot in the IPL 2023 points-table and can qualify for the playoffs with two wins out of their three games left in the league stage.

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May 10, 2023 at 04:07PM