IPL 2022: Suryakumar clarifies 'sweet-banter' with Chahal; 'I didn’t tell him anything'

Mumbai Indians batter Suryakumar Yadav played a knock of 51 runs in 39 balls during the match no. 44 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and helped the team earn their maiden victory of the season. MI chased down the target of 159 runs set by RR in the first innings, after Daniel Sams hit a six in the final over of the match to take MI across the winning mark. The match also witnessed a moment in the second-innings, when Suryakumar and RR spinner Yuzvendra Chahal were involved in a ‘sweet-banter’ on the field. 

While Chahal used a DRS referral for a lbw call, the third umpire review confirmed that the ball was just clipping the top of the stumps, which led to umpire’s call. Chahal was visibly disappointed with the on-field umpire’s call and then Suryakumar decided to step in and hugged Chahal to console him. Speaking during the post-match press conference, the MI batter revealed details about his gesture and called it just a ‘sweet banter’. 

“During the game, I didn’t tell him anything and it was just a sweet banter between him and me, but I'm really happy that I got away with the umpire’s call and the way things went after that. He is a great bowler and I’ve enjoyed having that fight between him and me in the middle,” Suryakumar Yadav said. 

More details about the MI vs RR, IPL 2022 match

In the first innings of the match, Jos Buttler hit his third half-century for RR in IPL 2022 by scoring 67 runs in 52 balls and helped RR to reach the total of 158/6. R Ashwin and Daryl Mitchell also hit 21 runs and 17 runs respectively, while Riley Meredith returned with the figures of 2/24 for MI, alongside Hrithik Shokeen’s 2/47 in three overs. Sams and Kumar Kartikeya also contributed with one wicket each for MI. 

Meanwhile, in the second innings, Suryakumar scored a match-winning knock of 51 runs, with the help of five fours and two sixes, and ended up winning the Player of the Match award. Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, and Tim David also contributed with knocks of 26 runs in 18 balls, 35 runs in 30 balls, and 20 runs in nine balls respectively. Chahal, Kuldeep Sen, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, and R Ashwin contributed with one wicket each for RR, which wasn’t enough to restrict MI below the target.

(Image: iplt20.com/BCCI)