Sooryavanshi smashed the first delivery he faced from Bumrah for a six over long-on.
The game was reduced to 11 over-a-side as it started after nearly three hours due to rain at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
Facing Bumrah for the first time, Sooryavanshi smashed a full delivery straight over long-on for a six, a feat that caused the ace pacer to react with a smile. In the same over, the southpaw hit a second six off a slower, shortish delivery, pulling it deep into the stands over backward square leg.
Sooryavanshi’s brilliance drew high praise from South African legend Dale Steyn, who believes the teenager has already begun to create a psychological edge over bowlers with his aggressive approach, even forcing the likes of Bumrah into rare errors.
“I think that's what he's done. I mean, honestly, he's created and instilled the fear into bowlers that he's going to hit you for boundaries,” Steyn told ESPNCricinfo.
“That delivery from Bumrah, that's in the slot. That's so rare of Bumrah. So even the great Bumrah is thinking in the back of his mind: ‘don't get it wrong, because if I get it wrong, this guy's going to hit me for six',” he said.
“I feel, if you think like that, more often than not, you do get it wrong. You can see even when he's hit him for six, he almost started to laugh afterwards and then go, ‘I knew that was going to happen if I got it wrong'. And that's exactly what happened,” he explained.
According to Steyn, Sooryavanshi is not scared of anyone and his fearless intent makes him dangerous regardless of the bowler's reputation.
“And this kid's not scared, man. If you miss a half-volley, he's going to hit you out of the ground. So drag your length back and hit a good length, and you might be on the money with him. Miss and you're travelling the distance. It doesn't matter who you are, Bumrah or Joe Average. So that's fantastic batting,” he remarked.
Coming to the match, Rajasthan Royals outclassed Mumbai Indians by 27 runs in the rain-affected fixture to move to the top of the points table.
Invited to bat first, RR racked up a massive 150/3, driven by Yashasvi Jaiswal's unbeaten 77 off 32 balls and Sooryavanshi's 39 off 14.
Chasing a steep target, MI’s top-order collapsed to 22/3. Despite resistance from Naman Dhir and Sherfane Rutherford (both scoring 25), they finished at 123/9.