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SKY, Brevis and Tilak impressive in KKR match

By Mumbai Indians

It was a tough result for MI as we lost our third match of IPL 2022 to KKR by five wickets.

Despite the loss, there were some bright performances in the match as Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis and Tilak Varma were given the dressing room ‘Player of the Match’ (POTM) award.

Let’s recap how they did last night.

Suryakumar Yadav - 52 (36)

SKY’s much-anticipated return to the side lived up to expectations as he top-scored with a 36-ball 52.

Walking in at no.4, Surya took his time to settle in, nudging it around for 10 runs in his first 17 balls. He scored his first boundary with a pull off the 18th ball he faced and then played a typically unorthodox upper-cut six off Umesh Yadav to get going.

SKY then took on Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy as well before being dismissed in the final over. Him taking on the spinners was something the team had planned beforehand, Mahela had revealed in his post-match press conference.

“We took the timeout after the 13th over despite getting the momentum because we wanted to plan how to play the remaining seven overs. Our plan worked to perfection,” SKY said in his mid-innings interview.

SKY’s late acceleration helped MI get 76 off the last five overs and took us to a par total.

Dewald Brevis - 29 (19)

No. 3 may be one of the most crucial positions in a batting line-up but Dewald Brevis looked as confident as ever in his Tata IPL debut.

In the second ball he faced, Brevis backed away to an inswinger from Rasikh Salam and mowed across the line for a boundary over long-on.

He then gave the charge to Umesh Yadav, hitting a similar shot off a slower ball and the pick of his shots was a no-look slog six over mid-wicket off Varun Chakravarthy.

Brevis’ innings gave MI momentum after a measured start by Ishan Kishan and skipper Rohit Sharma and it was certainly impressive.

Tilak Varma - 38* (27)

For a third match in a row, Tilak Varma walked into a tough situation and helped rebuild the innings with a crucial partnership.

After surviving an early dropped chance, Tilak handed most of his early strike to SKY and his first six was a result of brilliant anticipation as he knelt down to a Cummins’ full ball and lapped it over fine leg.

There were more drives and slog sweeps for boundaries as Tilak looked comfortable on both sides of the ground. The youngster shared an 83-run partnership with SKY and ended the innings unbeaten to carry MI to a good total.

This was Tilak’s second-consecutive dressing room POTM as he also won one for his fifty vs RR as he became the youngest MI player - at 19 years and 145 days - to hit a Tata IPL fifty and stitched a good partnership with Ishan Kishan in that game.

We may have lost the match but these performances are certainly a source of encouragement for the team and fans alike and we hope more such innings continue!