Suryakumar Yadav handed over his Player of the Match Award after scoring a blistering fifty during the T20 Mumbai League to fast bowler Sylvester Dsouza. SKY scored an unbeaten 72 from 36 balls to power the Triumph Knights MNE to their first-ever win of the season against the MSC Maratha Royals.
SKY, who has been dropped from India’s T20I team after his string of poor performances, scored a blistering and unbeaten 72 with 13 fours and one six to help his team chase down 153 at the Wankhede Stadium. Nutan Kumar Goel had also hit a fifty.ย
SKY hands his POTM Award
SKY was adjudged the Player of the Match for his blistering outing. However, the T20 World Cup-winning captain handed his award to Maharashtra fast-bowler DSouza, who took five wickets for 21 runs in 3.5 overs in the first innings. The pictures of the same have gone viral on social media.ย Earlier, Suryakumar had smacked 48 from just 24 balls in the clash against the SoBo Mumbai Falcons, showing that the cricketer still has plenty to offer.ย
Coming back to this match, Dsouza produced a brilliant bowling display to help dismiss the Royals for 152 in 19.5 overs. Reduced to 73/5, the Royals were rescued by Chinmay Sutar (32) and Maxwell Swaminathan (36), who stitched together a valuable 64-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
The Royals looked poised for a strong finish at 137/5 after 17 overs, but their innings fell apart after Sutar retired out. They lost their remaining wickets for just 15 runs, slipping from a promising position to a below-par total. Dsouza starred with a superb five-wicket haul, while Sagar Mishra provided solid support with figures of 2/30 in a disciplined all-round bowling effort.
SKY axed as India captain
Suryakumar has been removed as India’s T20I captain and has also been axed from the team that was announced for the upcoming series against Ireland and England. Shreyas Iyer has been brought back into the T20I side and has been named the new captain. India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar had labelled the decision as a move to the future.
“With regards to Surya, obviously, it’s a tough one… having just won the World Cup,” Agarkar said while naming the squad. “But as it happens, after most World Cups, we try and reassess what the best way forward is.
“Partly his own form, but also looking at the next two-year cycle or a little bit more than two years now till the next World Cup, we thought this was the best way forward.ย
“Of course, it’s a tough decision. Someone who led you in the World Cup, it’s not the easiest thing to try to change. But as I said, we’ve not had any international cricket after that World Cup. Partly the form, but partly also how we go forward is always at the back of your mind. And moving ahead, with a new captain, in this case, Shreyas, was in our view the right call.
“We know he’s been captain and just won a World Cup, so it’s not the easiest conversation when you want to tell the player that. But we’re doing everything in the interest of what the team needs going forward.”
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