"Clouds can cover it for some time but no one can cover Surya for long" - Aakash Chopra lauds Suryakumar Yadav's century in MI's win vs GT

Aakash Chopra has lauded Suryakumar Yadav for smashing his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) century in the Mumbai Indians' (MI) win against the Gujarat Titans (GT).

Suryakumar smoked an unbeaten 103 off just 49 balls as MI set a mammoth 219-run target for GT in their IPL 2023 clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, May 12. Their bowlers then restricted Hardik Pandya and Co. to 191/8 to help their team register a 27-run win and climb into third position in the points table.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that Suryakumar Yadav shone in his resplendent glory, saying:

"Surya's shine and glory are different. Clouds can cover it for some time but no one can cover Surya for long. We were told the sun is a star, but Surya is not a star, Surya is a superstar."

The former Indian opener added that India's Mr 360 shows a different level of batsmanship whenever he plays, stating:

"The first IPL century has come from his bat and in what fashion it came. Whenever he scores a century, it will come in this fashion only. When he plays, he plays differently. He has been absolutely sensational."

Suryakumar smashed 11 fours and six sixes during his innings. He reached his century with a maximum off the final ball of the Mumbai Indians innings.

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"Teams have started to adopt a different game plan now" - Aakash Chopra on Suryakumar Yadav having developed new shots

Suryakumar Yadav plays shots all around the ground. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra praised Suryakumar Yadav for countering the game plans the opposition teams have come up with to minimize his efficacy, explaining:

"Teams have started to adopt a different game plan now. They send the fine leg back and keep the square leg in the circle to stop the scoop shot. You can stop there but all fielders cannot go back, you will have to still keep four within the circle. He has started playing shots over long-off and cover."

The cricketer-turned-commentator also praised Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Vishnu Vinod for making useful contributions in helping MI post a massive total, elaborating:

"Rohit Sharma hit at the start and Ishan Kishan was there along with him. Vishnu Vinod also came and hit later and the team reached a huge total overall. Mumbai have decided that they have to score more than 200 because if they remain below 200, they will lose."

Rohit (29 off 18) and Ishan (31 off 20) gave MI a flying start by adding 61 runs for the first wicket in the powerplay overs. Vishnu Vinod scored 30 runs off 20 balls and strung together a 65-run fourth-wicket partnership with Suryakumar.