Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) produced one of the most entertaining innings in the history of T20Is this weekend. The great Virat Kohli was among the many to hail the India batter after his splendid knock.

Surya took the Sri Lankan bowling apart in a masterful exhibition of 360-degree batting at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium.

Showing why he's ranked No.1 in T20I cricket, Suryakumar Yadav, or SKY as he's fondly called, slammed an unbeaten 112 off 51 balls, including 9 sixes and 7 boundaries to power India to a mammoth total of 228/5.

Sharing a picture of Suryakumar Yadav's celebration after his record-breaking hundred on Instagram, Virat Kohli posted two applauding emojis alongside an equal number of fire emojis to salute his masterful unbeaten knock.

On Sunday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed what SKY said in response to Virat Kohli's Instagram story. Reacting to the former India captain's message, the Mumbai-born cricketer broke into a smile before saying, “Oh baba, look who has posted a story!”

He added, “Bhau, bohot saara pyaar. See you soon (Brother, lots of love. See you soon!)”

Since then, Suryakumar Yadav's reply to Virat Kohli's post has gone viral with several netizens reacting to the bonhomie between the two cricketers.

Coming back to SKY, it was the middle-order batter's third ton in T20Is in seven months since he struck his maiden hundred against England in July. With his century against Sri Lanka, Suryakumar Yadav became the first non-opener in the history of T20Is to hit three hundreds.

In the process, SKY also became the quickest to complete 1,500 runs in the shortest format of the sport.

In 45 T20Is so far, the 32-year-old cricketer has made 1,578 runs with a highly impressive average of 46.41 and a stunning strike rate of 180.34. During his brief career for India, Suryakumar Yadav has already smashed three centuries and 13 fifties.

Thanks to Suryakumar Yadav, the Men in Blue ended up winning the contest by 91 as the Sri Lankans were bowled out for just 137. With their comprehensive victory in Gujarat, India notched up their 12th consecutive T20I series triumph at 12.

After the match, SKY revealed he was enjoying his batting, adding that it was a fresh start for him in 2023 after his heroics the previous year.

“I'm really happy with the way the innings went. The captain winning the toss and batting first showed faith in the batters, few shots are pre-determined, but these are the shots I've been playing over the last year and I'm not doing anything different,” Suryakumar Yadav told Star Sports, the official broadcaster of India's series against Sri Lanka.

“The 2022 form is gone, it's a fresh start in 2023 and I hope to continue doing well. It's a good pitch, nice bounce and a lush outfield,” Suryakumar Yadav added.

“It is really important to put pressure on yourself when you are preparing for the game. The more pressure you put, the better you can play. There is a lot of hard work involved. Some quality practice sessions are also involved. The boundaries behind were 59-60m, so I tried to clear them. There are a few shots that are pre-determined but you have to be ready for other strokes as well. Most of the time, I try to find the gap, and use the field to my advantage, Dravid lets me enjoy, and tells me to express myself,” SKY explained.

Meanwhile, India captain Hardik Pandya made stunning remarks following Suryakumar Yadav's extraordinary ton in Rajkot.

“I think he has been surprising everyone every innings that he is batting. He is just telling us that batting is so easy. If I were bowling to him, I'd be disheartened on seeing his batting, with the shot he plays. He has played blinders after blinders,” Hardik Pandya said.

However, former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria reserved the ultimate praise for Suryakumar Yadav as he claimed that legends like Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers look pale in front of him and he's the true “Universe Boss” at the moment. Universe Boss is an epithet used for Chris Gayle after he gained popularity for his ultra-aggressive approach in T20s.

“The new Universe Boss is Suryakumar Yadav-the beast. Now what can I tell about this lad, even before I have said that a player like Suryakumar comes once in a lifetime. The innings which he played today, scoring 112 off 51, no one can replicate that. You can speak about ABD, Chris Gayle but even these two look pale in front of Surya. He has already eclipsed them and has taken T20 cricket to a whole new level,” Danish Kaneria said on his YouTube channel.