SA vs IND | Twitter reacts to 'Bullring' returning Wankhede's favour with AB-like ovation for SKY's historic ton

12/14/2023

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Sports has a way of dissolving boundaries in united appreciation every time a genius takes center stage. Suryakumar Yadav became privy to a rare standing ovation on foreign soil after the Wanderers rose as one to applaud his ton, reminiscent of the Wankhede's celebration of Ab de Villiers in 2015.

India rode the waves on a slightly two-paced pitch at the Wanderers on Thursday to post 201/7 on the board in the series decider against South Africa. While there were contributions all around the batting unit, the innings truly belonged to Suryakumar Yadav with the veteran producing another famous innings for the history books and cementing himself as a legend of the game in the shortest format.

Having walked in to face Keshav Maharaj's hat-trick ball with the score 29/2 in the third over, the 33-year-old found it difficult to get going initially and was stuck on 26 off 24 at the halfway stage of the innings. However, the inevitable lethal onslaught began in the 12th over with a brutal takedown of Andile Phehlukwayo, featuring three maximums and a boundary. No bowler was spared the cleaners thereon as SKY took down the attack with unparalleled power while still showcasing meticulous precision, taking just 31 deliveries for the next 74 runs to reach his ton in the 20th over off 55 balls.

A sheepish grin gradually captured the entirety of Surya's face as the Wanderers, nicknamed the Bullring for its hostile atmosphere, instantly caved into the knock's genius to applaud him into oblivion. SKY purposefully took off his helmet to kiss the badge and raised his bat to the packed stadium, spinning around slowly to relish the once-in-a-lifetime ovation reserved for a special few. When he holed out in the deep on the next delivery, the applause received a second wind as another showcase of praise followed with multiple Proteas players coming up to the Indian skipper to congratulate him on the achievement.

The reception for SKY's record-equalling fourth T20I ton quickly drew comparisons online with AB de Villiers' 59-ball blitzkrieg of 133 in the 2015 IPL where Wankhede had given him a prolonged standing ovation despite the South African representing fierce rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The T20 GOAT

— Virat Sharma (@ViratSharm39743)

Sentsational

Sensational SKY 😍

Fourth T20I century for the No.1⃣ ranked batter in the format 🔥

📝
— GAURAV🇮🇳 (@GK010200)

HE denied the single

SKY denied single to make century

If Virat Kohli does the same then people would say he is playing for milestones 💔 •
— Rvarmaa18 (@Rvarmaa18)

Top player

Sky in top 🔝 100 total 4 century

Just looking like wow 😲 love you Surya Bhai
— Eathan Rao (@akhilyadav4913)

Sky has no limits

is the limit for

The Cricket lovers are truly amazed by the angles he finds when he lights up the Cricket sky. Congrats on a brilliant century
— Frank Huzur (@frankhuzur)

Beautiful century

Beautiful Century Sky 💯💙🇮🇳🏏

4th T20 Hundred Surya Kumar Yadav
— Ruturaj Gaikwad (@BishnuBagdi17)

King + Sky

King Rohit Sharma + 360° Suryakumar Yadav = 8 t20i centuries 🥵 (5 against SENA)

Virat Kohli + Ab devillers = 1 T20i century 😭😭( against Mighty Afghanistan 💪🏻)

It's the shame when people compare the T20 batter Rohit and sky with choker kohli and devillers
— 𝗔𝘆𝘂𝘀𝗵 🇮🇳 (@RofiedAyush)

4th century

Suryakumar Yadav 4th century in T-20

Take a bow to Sky, Well played Surya Kumar Yadav 💪🇮🇳😂♥️🤟
— 𝕽𝖆𝖏𝖊𝖘𝖍 cheeta Bundi 🏹🌱🕊 (@Rajcheeta)

A remainder

Just a reminder : Gambhir was hyping SKY's century despite SKY playing for his milestone. You won't see reporters writing about this asw...

They don't have a problem with the idea of players playing for milestones, THEY JUST HATE VIRAT KOHLI
— A (@_shortarmjab_)

Its a statement