Honestly, it’s getting out of hand now. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is unstoppable. Yes. We have said it before. We know. But thanks to this kid, words and expressions are falling short to describe his freakiness. Unbelievable is the word, perhaps. At just 15, the world is at his feet. Those who felt Sooryavanshi would be figured out this year, stop passing verdicts on cricket. It’s not your thing. Three sleeps ago, it was Jasprit Bumrah. And tonight, it was Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. These are world-class, champion pacers. Giants of the game. And Sooryavanshi bludgeons them like they’re net bowlers, his assault helping the Rajasthan Royals make a mockery of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s total of 201 after 20 overs.
Poor Rajat Patidar was left shellshocked. He batted out of his skin to lift his team from the depths of 125/7 to 201/8. Less than two hours later, his effort was overshadowed by a player 17 years younger to him as Sooryavanshi blasted 78 off just 26 deliveries. 26. For a moment, Chris Gayle’s record for the fastest-ever IPL century looked in danger. Such ruthless was Sooryavanshi’s assault. In fact, the impact was such as Patidar almost went into trance, appearing lost as he gave the teenager his flowers.
“The way we started in the powerplay, to get to 200, is a positive sign for us. The way their batters, especially Vaibhav, batted in the powerplay, it made the difference. The way we are batting in last few matches was brilliant but lots of learnings from this game,” a shaken Patidar, almost self introspecting, said after the match.
Jurel can’t believe how Sooryavanshi can hit like that
Sooryavanshi’s wicket 22 short of what would have been his second IPL ton was a turning point as RR endured a collapse to lose three wickets for nine runs. But holding up one end was Dhruv Jurel, who showed nerves to steel and took RR home by staying unbeaten on 81 off 43 balls. Still, he didn’t win the Player of the Match award, with Sooryavanshi’s fireworks making it impossible for the commentators to select anyone but him for the honour.
“We just cannot believe how someone can hit it like that. We think we can not hit like that. He is a great talent. Best is to not say anything to him and we feel good that he is in our team,” he said about his teammate.
As did the winning captain Riyan Parag, who summed up just how loved Sooryavanshi is within the team. “Everyone loves him and having him around. He likes eating stuff and going out. We try to make that available for him. He is still a kid. And he loves batting.”
