IPL 2023: “It was fun batting up the order, Surya gave me confidence”, says MI batter Nehal Wadhera after win over RCB

Following his side’s six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Nehal Wadhera said that it was fun for him to bat up the order and said that batting with Suryakumar Yadav gave him confidence.
Mumbai Indians batter Suryakumar Yadav played a knock which will stay in the memory of fans who witnessed him throughout his knock as MI registered a crucial victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets to move to the third spot with 12 points in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
“It was fun batting up the order, earlier I was batting down. I got an opportunity to bat up and I got back-to-back fifties. I am happy with my fifty but I am more happy that my team won and I hope we continue to do so. I have the confidence within me that if I keep on batting till the end, I can finish the game for the team,” said Nehal in a post-match presentation.
“Surya bhai (Suryakumar Yadav) is a top-class player and I also try to copy some of his shots but I cannot. While he was batting I was talking to him and he was saying ‘keep playing, keep playing’ and he was giving me confidence. He told me, ‘If both of us bat till the 15th-16th over, we can finish the game even early.’ And that’s what we did. In the previous game which I played against CSK, I played a scoop. Earlier I did not play, after seeing Surya bhai bat, I also learned from him and I am very happy,” he added.
Nehal is having a great IPL season so far. He has scored 183 runs in six innings across nine matches at an average of 36.60 and a strike rate of 147.58. He has scored two half-centuries, with best score of 64.
Put to bat first by MI, RCB put on 199/6 in their 20 overs. After MI took early wickets of Virat Kohli (1) and Anuj Rawat (6), RCB bounced back into the game with a 120-run stand for the third wicket between skipper Faf du Plessis (65 in 41 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Glenn Maxwell (68 in 33 balls, with eight fours and four sixes).
Late cameos from Dinesh Karthik (30 in 18 balls, four boundaries and a six) and Kedar Jadhav (12* in 10 balls) took RCB to a competitive total.
Jason Behrendorff (3/36) was the pick of the bowlers for MI. Cameron Green, Chris Jordan and Kumar Kartikeya took a wicket each.
In chase of 200, Ishan Kishan’s power-hitting put MI to a good start but the hosts were reduced to 52/2 in five overs after Kishan (42 in 21 balls, four fours and four sixes) and skipper Rohit Sharma (7) were dismissed by Wanindu Hasanranga.
However, once Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera settled, there was no looking back for MI. The duo put on 140 runs for the third wicket. Suryakumar scored 83 off just 35 balls, consisting of seven fours and six sixes. Wadhera scored 52* in 34 balls with four boundaries and three sixes, hitting the winning runs for MI.
MI chased down the total with 21 balls and six wickets in hand.
Suryakumar Yadav took home the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his explosive knock.
With this win, MI has reached the third spot, with six wins and five losses. They have a total of 12 points. RCB has slipped to seventh position, having won five matches and lost six. They have a total of ten points. (ANI)