Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav share a close bond with the Indian batters, often praising each other for their heroics on the field. In one such recent incident, Mumbai Indians star SKY scored his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) century against reigning champions Gujarat Titans (GT). Immediately after Suryakumar Yadav's ton, Virat Kohli shared a post on Instagram, lauding the 32-year-old for his brilliant batting display against the Hardik Pandya-led side.

Following his blistering innings in Mumbai, Virat Kohli wrote “Tula maanla bhau,” before wrapping up his message with a salute emoji.

Virat Kohli's priceless three-word reaction to Suryakumar Yadav's knock became an instant hit on the social media network, with netizens applauding him for cheering his India teammates like no one else.

In what is said to be his favorite format, Surya produced a sensational knock, storming to 103 off 49 balls, with his last 50 runs coming in the final three overs of Mumbai's innings.

With his century at the Wankhede Stadium during the weekend, SKY became the first batter to have a three-figure score against the Gujarat Titans.

It was Suryakumar Yadav's fourth hundred in T20s, including three centuries for Team India in T20Is. Remarkably all these four tons have been scored in less than 50 balls, making Suryakumar Yadav the second batter to hit four or more T20 centuries in fewer than 50 deliveries. In addition to SKY, Universe Boss Chris Gayle has accomplished the feat in T20 cricket.

Suryakumar Yadav's unbeaten 103 against the Hardik Pandya-led side is his highest score in the IPL. It was also the first IPL hundred for Mumbai Indians since 2014 when West Indian Lendl Simmons scored one against Punjab Kings (then known as Kings XI Punjab).

Suryakumar Yadav's splendid knock eventually guided the Mumbai Indians to a comfortable 27-run victory as his blitzkrieg helped the five-time champions to a mammoth 218/7 in their allocated 20 overs. In reply, GT could only manage 191/8, with Rashid Khan being their lone warrior. The Afghan player smacked 79 off 32 balls with ten sixes, but nobody else got going.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav dubbed his historic hundred against Gujarat Titans his best knock in the T20 format.

“There was a lot of dew on the ground, it was there from the seventh-eighth over, and I knew what my shots were on the ground,” Suryakumar Yadav said after Mumbai Indians' triumph. “I knew that one side of the boundary is 75-80 metres. So I was prepared to hit two shots in that over – scooping one over third man and flicking one over square leg. I was not thinking about hitting straight. I have played that shot before, and I just backed myself and was really happy with how it went over third man.”

“There is lots and lots of practice before the game – what I practice and how I practice. That is most important. When I come into the game, I am very clear and I just go out and express myself. That's it.”

“Can say that [this was one of my best T20 knocks],” Suryakumar Yadav added. “Whenever I get runs I think the team should win, and most importantly, we batted first today. We had a chat in the afternoon that we would keep the same tempo when you are chasing 200-220 and we will keep up the tempo till the last over. Very happy with the way things went.”

Mumbai Indians' skipper Rohit Sharma was effusive in his praise of Suryakumar Yadav, saying his confidence rubs on the team.

“The guy has got confidence,” Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation ceremony. “At the start of the tournament, we were deciding whether to keep the right-left combination, but Surya came in and said no, he wanted to go in. That is the kind of confidence he has, it doesn't matter if a legspinner is bowling or offspinner or left-arm spinner, he just wants to go in. That shows he has got so much confidence in the last one-and-a-half years that he's been playing for us and also for India. He's done really well. That's the confidence he brings in and it rubs off on others who are batting with him in the middle.”

“There's no looking back for him. The good thing about him is, in every game, he wants to start fresh and does not look back at the previous game – which is always nice for a cricketer to think like that – what has happened in the past and the kind of run he had in the past. Sometimes you can sit back, and think about it and be proud of it, but that is not the case with him,” the Team India and Mumbai Indians captain elaborated.

On the other hand, Hardik Pandya, Gujarat Titans skipper, who knows a thing or two about SKY, having played a lot with him for Mumbai Indians and the national team, too heaped praise on the 32-year-old batter.

“People have spoken enough about him,” Hardik Pandya opined. “He is one of the best batters in T20 cricket. When he gets going, it's very difficult to set a field as a captain and for a bowler as well. You have to execute your plans and outdo him. Otherwise, you saw what can happen if you don't execute your plans or if you freeze in a situation when the pressure is on you. He kept putting pressure on our bowlers and got the better of them.”

Meanwhile, India legend Virender Sehwag urged the Mumbai Indians management to make Suryakumar Yadav their permanent No.3.

“SKY can be the permanent No. 3 for Mumbai Indians because he's a good player of pace and spin. Although it all boils down to the team management (when it comes to taking such decisions), but I strongly believe he should get to face more balls,” Virender Sehwag told Star Sports.

SKY's teammate Tim David claimed that if Suryakumar Yadav is in good form, he makes the job easy for all other MI batters.

“Surya in that form makes our job easy. The bowlers have stepped up big time and we have had to chase manageable totals. Surya has been magnificent to say the least. It's upto u guys to discuss in the commentary box but as a person from the other end. It's fantastic. I was seeing the highlights reel and some of the shots were unbelievable. So, happy for him and our team,” Tim David concluded.