India’s white-ball speciallist Suryakumar Yadav made his return to red-ball cricket in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2022-23 after a long gap of 34 months. Suryakumar Even after a long time, Suryakumar walked out to bat at no.3 at his usual position for Mumbai. As Prithvi Shaw walked out of the ground, Surya entered and smashed the Hyderabad bowlers around the park to score 90 runs from just 80 deliveries.
Batting in his backyard – Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai – Suryakumar did not curb his natural instinct to attack. Soon enough he started finding gaps with ease and scored boundaries. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was attacking as well but could not match the scoring rate of India’s own Mr. 360.
The 32-year-old got to his half-century from 46 deliveries. In the first session he scored 84 runs from 74 deliveries whereas Jaiswal was batting on 60. Mumbai batted with a healthy run rate making Hyderabad skipper Tanmay Agarwal scratch his head. Mumbai had 169 runs on the board before the second session started.
It seemed like Suryakumar will score a century on his return to First-Class cricket but he got out in nervous nineties. Left-arm spinner Mehrotra Shashank trapped Suryakumar in front of the stumps and ended the carnage. He missed out on a much-deserved hundred. His 80-ball 80 was studded with 15 fours and one six.
He shared a 153-run partnership for the second wicket with Jaiswal. The opener went on to get another ton for Mumbai. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane regained his form as well and got to his half-century in the second session.
The last time Suryakumar played for Mumbai was in February 2020. Against Madhya Pradesh, he scored 39-ball 43 in the first innings which included nine boundaries. It was followed by a 51-ball 38 in the second innings in a game that ended in a draw.
After New Zealand tour, Suryakumar was rested for the ODI series against Bangladesh which India lost by 1-2. He will be back in squad for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.
Last year, he was also in reckoning of getting his Test cap. He will have a point to prove in limited appearances for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy.
