PBKS vs GT: "He's not mini-Surya" - Suryakumar Yadav bluntly dismisses comparison with Ashutosh Sharma

Mumbai Indians top-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav was all of us when watching Punjab Kings' middle-order big hitter Ashutosh Sharma last night at the Maharaja Yadavindra stadium in Mullanpur. Ashutosh's batting was reminiscent of Surya's 360-degree batting but the latter while speaking to Jio Cinema after the match, claimed that the Punjab batter is anything but "Mini Surya". On a night when the pitch was looking quite tough to bat on, the Mumbai and Punjab batsmen made it look like a walk in the park. 

After Suryakumar Yadav's raging 70+ knock helped the MI post a target of 193 for the explosive Punjab batting line-up, the visiting bowlers did not let the hosts get off to a good start. Punjab were reduced to 6 wickets at the score of just 77 within the 10th over and it was starting to look like the Kings were on course of suffering yet another embarrassing loss. However, there was to be a twist in the script and the innovators were as usual - Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma. 

Shashank Singh builds the foundation, and Ashutosh Sharma overtakes 

Having walked into bat at number 6, Shashank Singh laid the kind of foundation that the opening batters - Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow should have given. Shashank, the accidental acquisition of the franchise, showcased his power-hitting ability once again and it was his efforts that brought back belief in the following batters. Ashutosh Sharma certainly took inspiration from him when he came on to bat after the departure of Jitesh Sharma. 

On just his second ball of the innings, Ashutosh Sharma played a pickup shot that reminded everyone, including the commentators, of Suryakumar Yadav. The flick towards fine-leg for a six is a shot that we have seen many times from Surya's bat. But only a few balls later, Shashank Singh joined his mates in the dugout, leaving Ashutosh to do the dirty work alone. And the 25-year-old stood for the task. 

Ashutosh Sharma kept on relentlessly hitting the ball to off-side and leg-side, and some shots he played towards the side screen as well. The Madhya Pradesh-based batter was just making the most out of his form and that meant that even a bowler like Jasprit Bumrah wasn't safe against him. He batted at a strike rate of 217, scored 61 off 28 with just 2 fours but smashed 7 huge sixes.  

What did Suryakumar Yadav say about Ashutosh? 

Suryakumar Yadav told Jio Cinema that he was absolutely enthralled to see Ashutosh Sharma's skills and the kind of knock that he played against his team. SKY denied that Ashutosh is Mini-Surya but did claim that the latter has a similar mindset as him. 

"He's not mini-Surya, I think he made a fantastic display of his skill and in that moment, I think if you bat like this, he almost won his team the match. I also have the mindset to come and bat and be a game-changer for the team, that's what he tried today. I had a lot of fun watching him bat. I can't say I wanted him to win the game for them, but the way he was batting, I really enjoyed watching it." - Surya said via Jio Cinema.