‘Genius is the word’ – Tom Moody awestruck by Suryakumar Yadav’s devastating knock against Gujarat Titans

Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody was left awestruck by the fiery knock played by Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Suryakumar Yadav against Gujarat Titans (GT). Notably, the explosive hitter slammed an unbeaten 49-ball 103 as Mumbai trumped the defending champions by 27 runs at Wankhede Stadium on May 12.

Playing some exquisite shots and garnering runs from all areas of the park, Suryakumar collected 11 fours and six sixes at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 210.20. Delighted with his blazing innings, former cricketer Moody called the Mumbai batter a “genius”. 

“Genius. That’s the only way that you can describe his batting in this format. He is a pure genius. The way he manipulates the fields, the way conducts where he wants the bowlers to bowl, the pressure he puts on the bowlers and the opposition captain,” said Moody on ESPNcricinfo.

He is almost impossible to bowl to: Tom Moody

Moody further lauded Suryakumar for having an answer to most of the deliveries with his varied range of shots. Citing an example of the last ball of the innings in which Suryakumar notched up his century, Moody stated that the former is ‘almost impossible to bowl to’.

“He has got them in the palm of his hand. If you look at that last shot, you can read the play. You sort of sense that he was going to do that and the bowler also might be thinking that he might sweep this. But he had just hit the bowler for a six straight over mid-off. He has got so many answers for so many deliveries. He is almost impossible to bowl to,” Moody added.

With the win, the five-time winners have climbed up to the third place in the IPL Points Table with 14 points in 12 matches. As the business end of the season approaches, Rohit Sharma and Co. will be gunning to keep their momentum intact and cement their place in the playoffs.