‘Virat’s sledging was on another level’- Suryakumar Yadav recalls story behind famous ‘intense stare’ with Kohli in IPL


‘Virat’s sledging was on another level’- Suryakumar Yadav recalls story behind famous ‘intense stare’ with Kohli in IPL

Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli

Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai Indians’ batsman has revealed the whole story behind his face-off with Virat Kohli in the match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020 played in Abu Dhabi.

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Suryakumar Yadav said that the former RCB skipper Virat Kohli was sledging the opposition that night and even he faced a long stare from him. Batting first, RCB had posted 164/6. MI responded by losing two wickets early but it was Suryakumar’s half-century that revived Mumbai’s innings.

But at one point during the match, Suryakumar hit the ball and Kohli picked it up; he walked towards Suryakumar and gave him a long stare to get under his skin. But it didn’t work and the MI batter scored an impressive 79 off 43 balls and helped MI win the match by 5 wickets.

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“My heartbeat was racing knowing that he is walking at me”- Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav

“That’s his style. His energy level on the ground is always different. And that game was extremely different. And that game was extremely important for both teams so Virat’s sledging was on another level in that match”.

“I was focusing on myself, like ‘boss, you cannot lose focus and have to win the match at any cost’. The ball went to him and he made that action from there and it was very instinctive,” Suryakumar Yadav told actor and cricketer presentation Gaurav Kapur on his famous show Breakfast with Champions.

Even after getting intimidated by Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav kept calm given the importance of the match.

“I remember I was chewing gum and inside my heartbeat was racing knowing that he is walking at me. He isn’t saying anything, I wasn’t saying anything. I was saying to myself ‘no matter what happens, do not say a word. It’s a matter of 10 seconds. After this a new over will begin. This won’t last long’. So, the situation passed. I then saw him right after the match,” added Suryakumar.

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Mumbai Indians lifted the cup that year for the record fifth time and Suryakumar Yadav also had a fine season, scoring 480 runs with four half-centuries.

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