Suryakumar Yadav vs Virat Kohli: Who comes out on top in IPL?

Suryakumar Yadav vs Virat Kohli became the prime topic of discussion during the latter stages of the Indian Premier League 2020 edition, when the two batsmen seemed to engage in a tiff involving an intense stare-off contest during a Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore match.

We’ll discuss the incident as well as compare their IPL careers in further detail but for added context, it must be added that the incident arose because both Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli are fierce competitors, and the face off with each other took place during the heat of the contest.

Since then, however, especially with Suryakumar Yadav becoming a regular member of the Indian limited-overs team, the two have had an extremely cordial and respectful relationship.

While Virat Kohli is going through an extremely poor patch of form in his career, Suryakumar Yadav recently became the fifth Indian cricketer to score a century in T20 Internationals after accomplishing this feat with a jaw-dropping knock in the final T20 match against England recently.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at Suryakumar Yadav vs Virat Kohli in IPL and then discuss the infamous incident that took place during IPL 2020:

Suryakumar Yadav vs Virat Kohli: IPL careers and records

Suryakumar Yadav IPL Career

Suryakumar Yadav received an IPL contract for the first time from Mumbai Indians for the 2012 season. He played just one match in the season and was dismissed without scoring. He was then picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2014 season and their then-captain Gautam Gambhir seemed to put a lot of faith in his abilities.

However, despite being given enough chances with KKR and showing glimpses of his potential, he never really took off. Suryakumar Yadav’s current trajectory as an extraordinary batsman began from the IPL 2018 season when MI brought him back.

Since then, he has been a fundamental part of the team and has helped them win the IPL in 2019 and 2020. SKY has been one of the most consistent run-scorers in the Indian Premier League over the years, scoring over 400 runs between 2018 and 2020, and 371 runs in 2021.

Virat Kohli IPL career

Virat Kohli, as you all might know, has spent his entire IPL career with Royal Challengers Bangalore, and was their captain for nearly a decade, during which he has been part of the franchise’s many highs and lows.

Virat Kohli is easily one of the best players in the history of the Indian Premier League and tops the run-scoring chart. Although he is yet to lift the trophy, his 2016 season is the stuff of legends – Kohli scored 973 runs that season from 16 matches, which included four centuries but unfortunately, the RCB skipper lost the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Despite his recent poor form, Kohli has achieved plenty of success and created several historic moments in the IPL and one can imagine him getting back to his best very soon.

Suryakumar Yadav vs Virat Kohli: Sledging incident

The match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore was the 48th match of IPL 2020. Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore share a feisty rivalry when it comes to the Indian Premier League and it goes without saying that it sometimes spills on to the field.

That is also what happened between Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli on this occasion. Mumbai Indians were asked to chase down a score of 165 runs but with the top order in Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan and Saurabh Tiwary departing soon, it all came down to Suryakumar Yadav’s shoulders to win his side the match.

Suryakumar, or SKY, as he is affectionately called was also going through a turbulent period because he had just been rejected for an India call-up despite performing extremely consistently in the IPL over the last few years.

As usual, SKY looked in fluent touch and it was his incredible counter-attacking knock of 79 runs that helped Mumbai Indians win the match. During the middle of his innings, Virat Kohli was continuously trying to sledge him, recognizing the threat he posed and it eventually led to a long stare-off between the two players.

Suryakumar Yadav even opened up on the infamous interaction with Virat Kohli during a recent episode of Gaurav Kapur’s famous Breakfast with Champions. Recalling the incident and Virat Kohli’s energy, he said, “That’s his style. His energy level on the ground is always different. And that game was extremely important for both teams so Virat’s sledging was on another level in that match. I was focused on myself, like ‘boss, you cannot lose focus and have to win the match at any cost’. The ball went to him and he made that action from there and it was very instinctive.” 

“I remember I was chewing gum and inside, my heartbeat is racing knowing that he is walking at me. He isn’t saying anything, I wasn’t saying anything. I was saying to myself ‘no matter what happens, do not say a word. It’s a matter of 10 seconds. After this, a new over will begin. This won’t last long. So the situation passed. I then saw him right after the match,” Suryakumar added.

Surya also discussed the incident during a live chat with the Mumbai Indians Instagram handle and said that he took the sledging very positively as it meant that Kohli knew he was capable of winning the match single-handedly and wanted to waiver his rhythm.

“It’s not just me, he goes hard at any batsman batting against him. I was happy that he sledged me. It means even Kohli knew that if I bat on, we will win the match and if they got my wicket, then maybe they could slow us down and create a chance to win,

“I am a cool and calm customer on the pitch, so I don’t get into these rivalries. But there was that moment in Abu Dhabi, so I guess that can go down as one,” he said.

SKY also spoke about the virality of the incident. He believes he has no idea why the clip of the incident received as much attention as it did on social media and even mentioned that he has a lot of respect for Virat Kohli as a competitor.

FAQs

What happened between Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli in IPL 2020?

During IPL 2020, the two players engaged in a long stare-off that came from a sledging contest. During the match, Suryakumar Yadav kept his calm even as Virat Kohli stared right at him during the crucial tie. Kohli was seen walking up to Suryakumar while shining the ball, and staring at him. The MI batsman stood his ground, before proceeding to walk away without uttering a word.

What is the age of Suryakumar Yadav?

Born on 14 September 1990, Suryakumar Yadav is 31 years old.

Who are the wives of Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli?

Suryakumar Yadav is married to Devisha Shetty, a girl from Mumbai who is also a dance coach. They got married in 2016. Meanwhile, famous Bollywood actress and producer Anushka Sharma is the wife of cricketer Virat Kohli.