NEW CHANDIGARH: Pat Cummins had a plan. As a multiple World Cup winner and one of the sharpest minds in cricket, Cummins is known for thinking ahead. Before the IPL Eliminator, he would have analyzed meetings, reviewed footage, and calculated his strategies. However, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi walked out at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium on Wednesday evening and turned Cummins's plans, along with Sunrisers Hyderabad's entire bowling attack, into something resembling a video game simulation.
Twenty-nine balls, 97 runs, 12 sixes. A strike rate of 334.48. Sooryavanshi batted as if he had never been told what is impossible. That, perhaps, is the most startling aspect of his innings. Not the 97 off 29, not the 12 sixes, nor even the audacity of taking on Cummins as if he were a club bowler delivering gentle throwdowns. The complete absence of baggage in his batting stands out.
No Hesitation, No Fear
Fifteen-year-olds are supposed to be intimidated by packed stadiums and elite fast bowling. They are expected to survive tournaments, not dominate them. Sooryavanshi, however, has amassed 680 runs at a strike rate touching 243 and broken Chris Gayle's record for most sixes in an IPL season. His Rajasthan Royals teammate Dhruv Jurel perfectly captured his mindset: "When we go to an academy, we're told, 'don't watch the bowler, watch the ball'. As 17-year-olds, we always watch the bowler. But really, Sooryavanshi just watches the ball. That's all. His mantra is 'I don't give a damn about any bowler'. He just wants to play the ball."
Names like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada, and Pat Cummins are simply men running towards him with a ball. Their reputations are irrelevant to him.
Teammates and Coaches Impressed
Jurel added, "The best thing about Vaibhav that I have noticed is that he doesn't plan anything because he practices a lot and he always backs himself. That's what he does every time he goes out and plays. He doesn't even have a shadow of doubt that 'I am not able to do it'."
James Franklin, SRH's assistant coach, remarked, "I don't think anyone's ever seen a talent like this. It's freakish what he is doing at the moment. To think that he has potentially got 25 years left in a career is quite scary. And he is only going to get better."
When Sooryavanshi was asked about his 97, falling three runs short of the fastest century in IPL history, he was entirely unbothered. "My only focus was on contributing as much as I could because centuries will keep happening. Right now the focus is on how to win the trophy," he said.
Royals' Management Philosophy
Royals skipper Riyan Parag underlined the management philosophy for Sooryavanshi: do nothing, leave him alone, and let him have fun. "We don't have any conversations," Parag said. "He likes batting, so we get him a lot of batting practice at the nets and stuff like that. And then he goes out and does his thing."
India has a habit of turning gifted teenagers into national obsessions before they have learned how to breathe between innings. The noise will only grow louder after this IPL. Perhaps the real task for the stakeholders of Indian cricket is to preserve Sooryavanshi's unburdened approach to the game.
