Mumbai Indians youngster Nehal Wadhera admitted he tried to play like Suryakumar Yadav but could not copy his shots after their convincing win of six wickets against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Tuesday. While chasing a total of 200 runs, Wadhera, who got his chance in place of injured Tilak Varma, scored an unbeaten knock of 52 runs from 34 balls.
The left-hander added a match-winning alliance of 140 runs with Suryakumar Yadav, who scored a blistering knock of 83 runs off just 35 balls with the help of seven fours and six maximums.
It was a typical Suryakumar Yadav’s innings as he took RCB’s bowlers to the cleaners. SKY batted at his absolute best and Wadhera was able to give him support at the other end.
Wadhera revealed that he has learned a lot while sharing the dressing room with Suryakumar Yadav and he keeps asking him the right questions.
The 22-year-old from Punjab said while talking to the official broadcasters after the match, “Surya bhai is a top-class player and I also try to copy some of his shots but I cannot. While he was batting I was talking to him and he was saying ‘keep playing, keep playing’ and he was giving me confidence.”
He continued, “He told me, ‘If both of us bat till the 15th-16th over, we can finish the game even early.’ And that’s what we did. The previous game which I played against CSK, I played a scoop. Earlier I didn’t play, after seeing Surya bhai bat, I also learned from him and I am very happy.”
This was Wadhera’s second successive fifty in the IPL and he must have grown in confidence. The southpaw had earlier scored 64 runs off 51 balls against Chennai Super Kings in the previous match but his efforts had gone in vain.
Mumbai Indians will next take on reigning champions Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Friday.
