India head coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday commended Mumbai Indians' Suryakumar Yadav for his 43-ball 79 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and asked the batsman to "stay strong and patient".
Yadav led MI to an important victory against RCB and won the Man of the Match award. The innings came shortly after he missed out on the Indian squad selected for the upcoming tour of Australia.
"Surya namaskar. Stay strong and patient @surya_14kumar #MIvsRCB," Shastri tweeted.
The selectors' decision to not pick Yadav in the Indian squads for the ODIs or T20Is has been met with significant criticism. Former India captain and ex-chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar and veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh were among those who criticised the selectors for not including the Mumbai batsman.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, opting to field, MI restricted their opponents at 164/6 wickets in 20 overs, thanks to Bumrah's stunning effort with the ball. In return, MI endured a few hiccups but Suryakumar ensured to drive his team home with five balls and as many wickets to spare. MI finished at 166 for five wickets in 19.1 overs.
Chasing the target, MI lost in-form openers Quinton de Kock (18) and Ishan Kishan (25) within the first eight overs. While Mohammad Siraj (2/28) dismissed de Kock, Yuzvendra Chahal (2/37) dismissed the latter.
Suryakumar on the other hand, kept the scorers busy. Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya chipped in with five, 17 and 10 runs respectively, before getting dismissed.
However, despite wickets tumbling at the other end, Suryakumar patience in the middle finally paid. The Mumbai batter notched up his half-century off 29 balls.
