How do you solve a problem like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi? That must be the question teasing every elite fast bowler now, especially after the Rajasthan Royals teen prodigy added a new name to the list of illustrious bowlers he has hit for a first-ball six.
For a player who announced his arrival with a first-ball six in his IPL debut last year, Sooryavanshi this season has the pundits bewildered with his incredible big-hitting skills.
The 15-year-old has amassed 357 runs from eight matches with a staggering strike rate of 234.86.
His total runs have come off just 103 balls.
Sixty-three of those 103 balls were hit for fours (31) and sixes (32).
Behind those incredible numbers lie the baby-faced player’s fearless approach.
The left-handed opener targets the best bowlers of the opposition teams.
Against the Mumbai Indians on April 8, he nonchalantly hit Jasprit Bumrah for a six over the long on boundary in what was the first ball he faced from one of the best fast bowlers in the history of the game.
In the next over of the same game, he opened his account against Trent Boult, New Zealand’s premier pace bowler, with a huge six over the deep backward square leg.
The Bihar boy followed those first-ball heroics against Bumrah and Boult with another jaw-dropping brilliance against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday.
For the record, he scored a magnificent 37-ball 101, his second IPL hundred after his equally bellicose 35-ball century against the Gujarat Titans last year.
His knock may have failed to earn Rajasthan a victory as Hyderabad went on to win the high-scoring match on Saturday, but his audacious strokeplay stunned Pat Cummins, one of the world’s best fast bowlers.
Cummins was greeted in his first match of the season by Sooryavanshi with a pull shot that cleared the mid-wicket fence, adding the Australian to his list of first-ball six victims.
Later at the post-match press conference, all Cummins could do was just smile when asked about a teenager who is making a habit of dismantling the world’s elite bowlers.
“Yeah, I think he’s my new favourite player,” Cummins said after a brief pause.
“He hits the ball so hard, it’s great to watch. It’s good fun.”
Cummins also said that for bowlers, there is no margin for error against Sooryavanshi whose bat-speed has astounded the experts.
“You’ve got to be right on the money as a bowler. Because if you’re not, it’s going a long way. He’s impressive,” Cummins said.
“He’s had a great start to his career. I love the way he plays. He takes the game on.”
Rajasthan Royals manager Romi Bhinder admitted that several experienced batters in the team are in awe of Sooryavanshi’s ability to easily hit the good balls for sixes.
Who can blame them? Cricket had never seen a 15-year-old conjure magical knocks with such regularity.
“This is what the IPL is all about,” said West Indies’ 2016 T20 World Cup hero Carlos Brathwaite.
“You have 1.8 (1.5) billion people (in India) and you can still unearth a 15-year-old sensation that will probably be the face of the league, probably next year!”
While there is still a long way to go for next year’s IPL, the Royals will hope that Sooryavanshi continues to give them blazing starts this season and helps them earn the IPL trophy for the first time since winning the inaugural edition in 2008.
In case you are wondering, yes, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not even born when the IPL was famously launched in 2008. Now, he is the most famous teenager ever to have played in it.
Source: Khaleej Times