On his return to the Ranji Trophy after almost three years, Suryakumar Yadav excels with the bat. On day one of the Group B match in Mumbai, Suryakumar Yadav scored an 80-ball 90, while captain Ajinkya Rahane and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored fine hundreds to reduce Hyderabad to 457 for three.
Surya, who has unquestionably been the best batter in white-ball cricket for the past year, approached the red-ball game with the same aggressive intent as he does in the shorter formats. His total was 15 fours and one six.
The polished hitter has over and over communicated his craving to play Test cricket for India. He last played a five-star game way back in February 2020.
While Rahane was batting on 139 at stumps, Jaiswal continued his impressive run of form with a magnificent 162 off 195 balls.
Due to Hyderabad’s decision to field at the BKC stadium, Prithvi Shaw was ruled out for 19 runs.
Mumbai got off to a great start in their second Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad on Tuesday, December 20 at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai as Suryakumar Yadav made a wild return to domestic red-ball cricket.
Suryakumar was included in the starting XI for the match against Hyderabad, his last Ranji Trophy game coming in February 2020. The batter for the Mumbai Indians (MI) started at No. 3 ahead of captain Ajinkya Rahane and used the opportunity to the fullest.
After Prithvi Shaw was bowled in the fourth over, the stunning batsman came to the crease and attacked the opposing bowlers with all of his might. He scored runs all around the recreation area and never permitted the Hyderabad bowlers to settle down.
Mumbai was in a strong position at 176/2 when he got out lbw to Mehrotra Shashank, and Yashasvi Jaiswal was playing hard at the other end. Suryakumar scored at a rate of over 112.90 runs per 80 balls.
Yashasvi, on the other hand, has scored yet another century and will try to make it count alongside Rahane (28*) as Mumbai attempts to set a formidable first-innings total.
Suryakumar Yadav on his desire to play red-ball cricket: “I feel I’m close.”
Many people have urged the Indian selectors to include Suryakumar in the red-ball team because of his outstanding success in white-ball cricket over the past two years.
The batter believes he has a good chance of making the Test team and that he can play at the highest level.
In an interview with the Indian Express, he discussed his potential future in Test cricket, stating:
“I feel I’m close. This format has played by me. We all begin with red-ball cricket, so I have an idea of what that is. Yes, the conditions are difficult, but you can succeed if you change your strategy and apply your mind.”
After several injuries in the Indian team, he was included in the Test squad for the five-match series against England in 2021, but he did not play.
Suryakumar has had some success in red-ball cricket, scoring 5326 runs at an average of 44.01 in 77 first-class matches, including 14 centuries and 26 fifties.