The last two games of the Indian Premier League 2023 have produced two of the best T20 knocks one can ever witness. On Thursday, it was Yashasvi Jaiswal who smashed the fastest 50 in the IPL with just 13 balls against the Kolkata Night Riders.
He demolished the KKR bowling attack and scored an unbeaten 98-run inning. This season, Jaiswal has been on fire and is currently the second batsman in the race for the orange cap. He has scored 575 runs in 12 games, including one century and three half centuries.
On the other hand, Indian superstar Suryakumar Yadav once again produced yet another epic inning in the game last night. He smashed his maiden century against the defending champion Gujarat Titans and helped MI register an important win. It was the first century at Wankhede Stadium by a MI batter in the last 12 years.
Suryakumar scored an unbeaten 103 off 49 balls, including 11 boundaries and six maximums. Certainly, these two innings in the last two games have changed the way many former cricketers and fans look at T20 cricket. Former Indian cricketer and selector Saba Karim took a dig at Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli.
Notably, in the past year, both of these Indian stalwarts have faced criticism over their strike rate in the sorter format of the game. Karim took to Twitter and tweeted, “When one sees Jaiswal and SKY bat, it is amply clear that T20 game has moved on from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli!! @anilkumble1074 @bhogleharsha.”
The MI skipper has struggled this season and has scored only 220 runs in 12 games. Though he has failed to deliver with the bat, his leadership has been superb, and MI is currently sitting in third place on the table.
On the other hand, the former RCB skipper has been one of the most consistent performers in the tournament. He has scored 420 runs in 11 innings, including six half centuries. He will hope to do well in the coming games to take his team through the playoffs.