Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli
A couple of days after India snub, Mumbai Indians' Suryakumar Yadav, while giving a fitting response to the national selectors, slammed a match-winning knock at Abu Dhabi against Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore. The 30-year-old looked in sublime touch as he hit a flurry of boundaries to single-handedly steer MI past the finishing line.
Stitching an unbeaten 79 off just 43 deliveries, Suryakumar proved why he deserves to board the flight for India's tour Down Under. The right-hander walked in the middle at No.3 and stuck to the crease until he slammed the winning boundary in the ultimate over.
Despite delivering consistently, Surya has been overlooked by the selectors for a while now. However, unfazed by his omission, the MI player replied with his willow and pocketed two vital points for his franchise.
“I was looking to finish the game. I was looking to learn what my game is. Happy to have finished it. A lot of meditation has helped. One over the cover to Chahal and the back foot punch off Steyn were my favourites. I have worked on my game during the lockdown,” he said in the post-match presentation.
During Surya's stellar show in the middle, his on-field staredown with Virat Kohli started doing rounds on the internet in no time. Trying to sledge Suryakumar, the RCB skipper walked towards him with an intimidating look. However, it didn't convert into an argument as Suryakumar decided to walk away.
The Kohli-Suryakumar staring moment lasted just for seconds but it was enough to set the social media ablaze. While some fans lauded Suryakumar for looking Kohli in the eye, few came to a conclusion that there was a feud between the two.
However, the possibility of animosity or rivalry between the two was quashed after Suryakumar's old tweets went viral. The Mumbai batsman had heaped praise on Kohli in his two old tweets. To top it off, he had even hailed Kohli as 'God' in one of those tweets.
