IPL 2023: Rohit, Ishan storm post-match show; take Zaheer Khan away into MI’s celebratory parade

Mumbai Indians (MI) toppled Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a comfortable chase to win their second game on the trot in IPL 2023. Following the win, Rohit Sharma and flamboyant batter Ishan Kishan engaged in a peculiar moment with former MI pacer Zaheer Khan during the celebratory parade.

Earlier, KKR had notched up a competitive first innings total of 185 runs after a glorious knock by Venkatesh Iyer. The batter smashed a 51-ball 104 and became the first KKR player to register a century since Brendon McCullum's unbeaten 158 in the very first match of the inaugural season of the IPL. 

However, it was Mumbai’s all-round batting effort that overshadowed Venkatesh’s ton. While Ishan Kishan slammed a 25-ball 58, stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Tim David returned with scores of 43, 30, and 24* runs respectively, to steer the side to a convincing victory.

In a peculiar incident following the conclusion of the game, Zaheer Khan, who was in the midst of an interview with JioCinema, was taken away by Rohit and Ishan to join the celebratory parade. Zaheer was performing his duties as an expert with the digital broadcasters of the IPL 2023 and was indulging in a conversation with former Indian gloveman Parthiv Patel and presenter Suhail Chandhok when a huge crowd of MI players stormed the frame to take Zaheer away.

Following that, a few staff members and players of MI, which also included veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla had a brief interaction with Parthiv Patel before pulling him into the parade as well.

Guess Karo@KuchNahiUkhada

08:42 PM · Apr 16, 2023

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Took my time in the first five-seven balls: Suryakumar Yadav

During the chase, stand-in skipper, Suryakumar Yadav put his best foot forward as he got a 25-ball 43 to steer the side to a potential win. For the uninitiated, the flamboyant right-hander had endured a lean patch prior to the match against KKR. 

The batter returned with scores of 15, 1, and 0 in the first three outings, preceded by three ducks on the trot in the ODI series against Australia. However, the batter seemed to be in his element and got the boundaries with ease against KKR in their second win of the season.

"I would have loved to finish the game but nevertheless, I was very happy with the way the team played. At the Wankhede in day games, 160-170 is a good score but Kishan got us off to a great start. I took my time in the first five-seven balls and thought if I could get my eye in, I could get a score. We know that if the top order gives a good start, what kind of firepower we have lower down the order,” told Suryakumar during the post-match presentation.