'Seen 10 million balls in my life but never saw that shot': Australia great amazed at Suryakumar's ‘impossible’ hit

Suryakumar Yadav displayed a brilliant performance in the game against Gujarat Titans on Friday night, scoring an unbeaten 103 off just 49 balls.

Mumbai Indians' star batter Suryakumar Yadav produced an exhibition in power-hitting on Friday night, smashing the Gujarat Titans bowlers all around the park to bring his maiden Indian Premier League century. Suryakumar, who made his name with his explosive hitting in the league, endured a 4053-day wait for his first IPL century; he brought his three-figure mark on the final delivery of the innings, racing to the ton in merely 49 deliveries.

Suryakumar Yadav(IPL)

Througout his knock, Suryakumar showcased a range of shots but one that left many stunned was his six in the penultimate over of the innings against Mohammed Shami. Such was the greatness of the hit that even Sachin Tendulkar -- considered as one of the greatest batters in cricketing history -- attempted to mock-imitate the shot while sitting near the dugout.

Shami had pitched the delivery wide outside off and Suryakumar deliberately sliced the ball over short third for a maximum. It initially looked as if he was aiming for a grounded hit, but Suryakumar flicked his wrist at the very end to send it over the boundary line for a six.

Former Australia star Tom Moody was in complete awe of the shot, and stated that he had never seen any batter attempting anything of the kind in his entire life. After fellow expert Amol Mazumdar calls Suryakumar ‘impossible’ to bowl to while referring to the shot, Moody stated that he is amazed at the batter's courage to even attempt the hit.

“That particular ball, I don't think I've ever seen a six hit over third man with a vertical bat. I've seen hit with a horizontal bat, a cut shot going over third man. I've never seen a six hit with a vertical bat off the middle of the bat, I've even seen a thick-edge fly. Never seen it before in my life!” Moody told ESPNCricinfo.

“I've seen nearly 10 million balls bowled in my lifetime in all forms of the game, and I've never seen that before. It was totally mint. It was in his head, and no one else's head, that he was capable of doing that,” he further said.

Moody wasn't the only one who was in awe of the shot. Ian Bishop, who is currently on commentary duties in the IPL, called the shot ridiculous. “This for me will forever be know as “The Shot”. That’s just ridiculous from SKY,” he wrote.

In the presentation ceremony, Rohit Sharma also praised Suryakumar Yadav for his stellar knock. "The guy has got the confidence. We wanted to keep right-left combination but SKY came in and said no, he wanted to go in," Rohit said.

"That is the kind of confidence he has and that rubs off on others. Every game he wants to start fresh and does not look back at the previous game. Sometimes you can sit back and feel proud but that is not the case with him," he added.