It was a night where 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi showed he has a different side to his batting. So far this season, all of his knocks have been breathtaking, providing edge-of-the-seat entertainment. On Friday, in the Qualifier 2 against the Gujarat Titans, on a two-paced pitch at Chandigarh, he had plenty going against him. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals at the other end. The bowlers were not giving him room to free his arms.
The sixes, which seemed to arrive as and when he intended, didn’t arrive that easily. He was made to earn them, and Sooryavanshi took the challenge head-on. When he was dismissed for 96 runs from 47 balls, he had made an impact once again, despite reaching a half-century in 31 deliveries.
Before Sooryavanshi could hit his first six off the 14th delivery, Rajasthan Royals were already in trouble. Mohammed Siraj took out Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first over. Kagiso Rabada then ended Dhruv Jurel’s stay in the second over. Gujarat were doing what they have been doing all season – break the back of the opposition in the powerplay. Rajasthan responded by sending Ravindra Jadeja at No.4 to provide some solidity.
What followed was a riveting contest. Gujarat maintained aggressive lines. And more importantly, they were delivering some high-quality short stuff, which on occasions was hostile given the bounce they generated and the pace. All of this meant that Sooryanshi didn’t get off to the flying start that he usually does.
But it was the innings that Rajasthan needed.
Can you believe IT HAS HAPPENED AGAIN? 😮
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The first six arrived only off the 14th delivery he faced off Kagiso Rabada, but what is worth noting is, in the previous 13 deliveries he faced, didn’t show the desperation to manufacture one. Early on against Siraj, he tried to go heave one over the mid-wicket, but the scrambled seam that the pacer delivered meant, it held on the surface. Sooryavanshi didn’t connect well. So he immediately put that shot away for the time being.
While the sixes didn’t arrive, there were boundaries to show. With the Gujarat Titans attack peppering him with short deliveries, and showing impeccable control when it comes to the line – they were all in the line of the body – he hung in. There were those plays and misses. But he never came across a batsman who was going to throw it away.
Pressure factor
And then there was the pressure factor. He saw wickets falling at the other end. Barring Ravindra Jadeja, who retired hurt and came back again, the rest hardly rose to the occasion, leaving Sooryavanshi with a humongous job of carrying the team to the final. So far in his brief career, Sooryavanshi has rarely been put on a situation like this. Yet, despite all it, he didn’t get into a shell. Instead, whenever the Gujarat attack offered him some sort of room, Sooryavanshi ensured, they were punished.
As Siraj repeatedly hit that hard length in the powerplay, Sooryavanshi took him on, confidently like he has done all season. Then in the same over, as Siraj strayed on the leg-side, he got on his knees and swept fine. The timing wasn’t there. Perhaps, he was trying too hard to break the shackles. But off the next delivery, a crisply timed flick announced Sooryavanshi has arrived on the night.
Those two boundaries gave him the confidence to take on Rabada head-on. The hard-length which he has been hitting consistently this season had fetched wickets regularly. Here, Sooryavanshi responded with fire — clear the front foot away, and hit it over cover. In the next three deliveries the red-hot pacer increased his speed, clocked 151 kmph, to send two short deliveries and another from the hard length that kept climbing. It was hostile, Test match length. But Sooryavanshi didn’t flinch. As a 153kmph delivery landed on the back of the length, the left-hander, having been beaten for pace twice in that over, opened up his stance on the occasion and lofted him straight for his first six. Again, outstanding game sense from a 15-year-old, who had the clarity to go straight and not bring out a cross-batted shot.
One short ball also hit him on the helmet and the concussions protocals came into force. But Sooryavanshi didn’t seem worried.
From there on, Sooryavnanshi took calculated risks. With Jason Holder, making the most out of the two-paced surface, by opting for slower ones and banging it on the pitch with pace off, he was watchful. But if the ball had pace to work with, Sooryavanshi didn’t hold back. Once he brought up his fifty, Sooryavanshi resumed normal service. Off the next 16 deliveries, he smacked 46, hitting five sixes in the phase as Rajasthan went past the 200-run mark with help from Jadeja and Donovan Ferreira.
