'I enjoyed that fight' - Suryakumar Yadav on his 'sweet banter' with Yuzvendra Chahal after surviving LBW call

Mumbai Indians finally ended their eight-match losing streak on Saturday (April 30) as they defeated the high-flying Rajasthan Royals by five wickets at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy. Suryakumar Yadav was the chief architect of MI’s triumph as he slammed a well-paced half-century, helping MI record their maiden win in IPL 2022. Meanwhile, Suryakumar’s stay at the crease would have been cut down had luck not favoured him.

He got away with a close LBW call off Yuzvendra Chahal’s bowling in the last ball of the eighth over. As Suryakumar failed to connect a sweep shot, the ball smashed his pads and Chahal was mighty confident that the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps. As a result, he straightaway convinced RR skipper Sanju Samson to go upstairs after the on-field umpire gave his verdict in the batting side’s favour.

I’m really happy that I got away with the umpire’s call: Suryakumar Yadav

HawkEye suggested the ball would have clipped the top of off-stump. Hence, Suryakumar just got away by an inch and breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, Chahal was evidently disappointed and he was offered empathy from his rival. Suryakumar went to him to give him a warm hug and cheer him up. The right-handed batter opened up about the incident after the game and called it 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 said in the post-match press conference.

Meanwhile, the 31-year-old ended up scoring 51 off 39 balls as MI crossed the line with four deliveries to spare. “The win will spread a lot of positivity. We were already enjoying each other’s company during practice sessions and team dinners. This win will help each and everyone learn going forward in the season,” added the dashing batter.