Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was effusive in his appreciation for Suryakumar Yadav, who delivered a superb innings against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Wednesday, May 21, at the Wankhede Stadium to propel Mumbai Indians (MI) to the playoffs of the present Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

MI lost three wickets in their first seven overs after being asked to bowl first. The surface appeared to be sluggish, and the DC spinners caused the balls to turn. Suryakumar had to wait his turn at the crease, which he did despite the fact that Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya threw away their wickets in pursuit of quick runs.

 Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir hammered Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera around the park in the final two overs, scoring 48 runs.

The Indian T20 captain went undefeated on 73 off 43, hitting seven fours and four sixes. MI reached 180/5 in 20 overs and went on to win by 59 runs, securing a playoff spot.

Harbhajan praised Suryakumar for saving his team, as he has done on multiple occasions in the past, while evaluating the game. The former cricket player who is now a broadcaster emphasised Suryakumar’s capacity to go deep into a match, particularly when the conditions are not ideal for making fluid strokes.

“A good player’s sign is that he takes the game deep, and then he has so much belief in himself that if he stays till the end, which he would, he would change the complexion of the game, and we have seen Suryakumar Yadav doing that not once, but thousands of times,” Harbhajan stated on Star Sports.

When he had the opportunity, he spread his arms wide enough to take the game far away from the opposition since he was aware of the conditions and took the game seriously. This knock, in my opinion, was the best of the season. The bowlers were in the game in the conditions of today, even though the other innings might have gone by considerably more quickly,” he continued.