IPL 2023, MI vs GT: Suryakumar's maiden IPL ton thrash Gujarat and takes Mumbai to 3rd place

IPL 2023, Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Gujarat Titans (GT), Top Performances: Suryakumar Yadav’s 103*, Rashid Khan’s 4/30 & 79* and Akash Madhwal’s 3/31 are the top performances. MI beat GT by 27 runs to reclaim 3rd spot in points table.

Suryakumar hits maiden IPL hundred (103 off 49) (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Brief Scores 218/5 (Surya 103*, Kishan 31, Rashid 4/30) beat GT 190/8 (Rashid 79*, Miller 41, Madhwal 3/26) by 27 runs.

Player Of The Match: Suryakumar Yadav (103 off 49)

In a battle of heavy weights, the top placed Gujarat Titans took on a rampant and a resurgent Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. MI eventually won yet another game at home, this time by 27 runs making their case stronger for playoffs.

The SKY Show Takes Mumbai To An Easy Win

The visiting skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and on expected lines, opted to field first. They played with the same team that won against LSG in the last game. Mumbai made one change with Vishnu Vinod playing his 1st IPL game in 6 years coming in place of Akash Madhwal. The latter however was the impact player for MI in the 2nd innings.

Put into bat first, MI openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma gave the team a solid foundation scoring 61 runs in the power plays. However, post the 6 over mark, Rashid Khan snapped both in the same over and then sent back the inform Nehal Wadhera in his 3rd over as MI reached 100 at the completion of 11 overs. And it was the SKY show after that, as he first forged a quick 65-run stand in 42 balls with Vishnu Vinod (30) and then took matter upon himself as MI made 218/5 of which 54 came in the last 3 overs and SKY scored 50 of them. Surya eventually reached his maiden IPL ton and MI made their 5th 200+ score this season, the most by any side in a season.

Read More: IPL 2023, MI vs RCB: SKY, Wadhera chase down 200 against RCB; MI move to third place in points table

Gujarat had a terrible start to their innings as they lost 3 wickets for 48 runs in the powerplays with their in-form top-3 back in the hut. Akash Madhwal accounted for both openers and at the halfway mark, GT lost 5 wickets making just 82 runs. Though David Miller looked good, the target was too steep for the visiting team as they continue to lose wickets at a heap. With GT starring at a heavy defeat, a swashbuckling knock from Rashid Khan where he made his highest T20 score took the visitors to 190/8. This after reeling at 100/7 one stage. His stunning effort of unbeaten 79 included 10 sixes.

Talking Points: Suryakumar Kumar hits the exceptional mark!

The major talking point must be the form of Suryakumar Yadav. After a few lacklustre outings against Australia and in the initial phase of this IPL, SKY is back to his lethal best. In the last 6 innings before this, Surya had 4 scores of over 50 and most of them proved to be detrimental for MI winning the contest.

This epic knock of his against GT (103*) who has arguably the best bowlers of this IPL turned out to be no different. MI registered an emphatic win and this form of SKY will increase confidence of MI who look set to march into the playoffs.

Let us scan the key performances of the MI vs GT game of IPL 2023

Suryakumar's 103 off 49 helps MI beat GT (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Suryakumar Yadav smashes his maiden IPL ton

You can’t keep a calibre of player such as Suryakumar Yadav for a long time and the 360* batter has come back to his usual best in a great fashion. After a disappointing start to the season having not scored a 50+ in his first 5 outings this IPL, SKY roared back to score 4 fifties in his next 6 innings and in the 7th, he converted that into a ton.

He showed his full range in his home ground of Wankhede and once again proved why he is the best in this format. SKY completed a scintillating ton in just 49 deliveries, and this included 6 maximums and 11 fours, His innings had his usual flair comprising charismatic and unconventional shots, and his unbeaten knock of 103 took MI to a huge total of 218.

Read More: IPL 2023, PBKS vs MI: Ishan, Surya power MI to crucial victory over Punjab; MI move to 6th place

Rashid Khan took 4-30 & scored 79 with bat (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Rashid Khan shines in an otherwise forgettable outing for GT

Rashid Khan, the leg spinner reached an impressive mark of 550 wicket in T20 cricket making him only the 3rd bowler to do. He picked up 4 wickets for 30 runs in an innings where the run-rate of 10.90 throughout. This is indeed commendable as he picked 4 of the MI’s top-5 wickets including that of Rohit, Kishan & Tim David and it came sans with any support from the other end.

With this 4-wicket haul, Rashid topped the wickets tally in IPL 2023 with 23 wickets surpassing fellow leggie Yuzuvendra Chahal.

He once again came into the act later in the game, this time with the bat, scoring his maiden IPL fifty off 21 balls. Coming in at 100/6 when all was lost for GT and Rashid showcased his talent as a batter propelling his team to 190/8 thus reducing the margin of loss.

Read More: Wrist spin duo of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad turning things around for GT

Akash Madhwal creates impact as an Impact Player

If SKY took MI to a very comfortable position after 1st innings, Akash Madhwal made sure that the home team don’t give Gujarat even a slightest chance to come back into the contest.

Taking the new ball, the right-arm pacer packed both of GT’s openers Shubman Gill and Saha in first 2 overs of his spell and in his 2nd spell removed the dangerous looking David Miller breaking a growing 6th wicket partnership with him and Tewatia.

What's next and points table

GT despite this defeat, stay put at the top spot with 16 points after 12 games and they next host SRH on the 15th of May. MI after this thumping win will take on LSG at Lucknow on Tuesday and the Rohit-led team go back to the 3rd spot.

Read More: IPL 2023, GT vs LSG: Gujarat a step closer to Playoffs spot after big win over LSG

IPL 2023 Points Table

IPL 2023 Points Table

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