'Lit up the evening sky': Sachin, Kohli, cricket fraternity lavish praise on Suryakumar Yadav for maiden IPL ton

Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli led the cricket fraternity in the wishes for Suryakumar Yadav, who bagged his maiden IPL ton.

Suryakumar Yadav was in fiery form in Match 57 of IPL 2023, as Mumbai Indians sealed a 27-run victory vs Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. Chasing a target of 219 runs, GT were restricted to 191/8 in 20 overs, despite an unbeaten knock of 79 runs off 32 balls by Rashid Khan. Meanwhile, for MI's bowling department, Akash Madhwal took three wickets, Piyush Chawla and Kumar Kartikeya scalped two dismissals each.

Initially, MI posted 218/5 in 20 overs, courtesy of a maiden IPL ton by Suryakumar. The Team India star slammed 103 runs off 49 balls at a strike rate of 210.20, packed with 11 fours and six sixes. Meanwhile, Rashid bagged four wickets for Gujarat. Suryakumar's knock is also now the third highest individual score for MI. Sanath Jayasuriya (114*) leads the pack, followed by Rohit Sharma (109*). Suryakumar went past Sachin Tendulkar (100*) and Lendl Simmons (100*) to third position.

After the match, Suryakumar received rave reviews from the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, who led the cricket fraternity in lavishing praise on him. Taking to Twitter, Sachin wrote, “.@surya_14kumar lit up the evening sky today! He played excellent shots through the innings but the one that stood out for me was the 6 over third man off @MdShami11. The way he opened the face of the bat to create that angle off the blade at the same time is very very tough to do and not many batters in world cricket can play that shot.”

Meanwhile, Kohli posted a story on Instagram, where he lauded the batter. He wrote, "Tula Maanla bhau". It is a Marathi line and it means 'hats off to you brother' in English.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag wrote, “53 no at the end of 17th over and 103 not out by the 20th. Incredible #SuryakumarYadav . Ghazab batting.”

Here are the other reactions:

MI have two more matches left in the league phase and are very well-placed for the playoffs. They are third in the points table with 14 points in 12 matches, including seven wins and five defeats. Meanwhile, GT are still on top of the table with 16 points in 12 matches, with eight victories and four defeats.