Sooryavanshi smoked 5 sixes and 1 four v MI, hitting two sixes in an over to Bumrah.
The 15-year-old opener scored 39 off just 14 balls in a brilliant start that helped RR reach 150/3 in their rain-soaked match against the MI in Guwahati, which was shortened to 11 overs each side. Yashasvi Jaiswal hammered 77*.
In the end, the Royals prevailed by 27 runs, maintained their undefeated record, and showed how dangerous their top-order aggression can be in curtailed matches.
However, the highlight of the game was when Jasprit Bumrah bowled to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. This was Sooryavanshi's first time facing Jasprit Bumrah, and the famed MI pacer was hammered for a monstrous six, whipping it over mid-on.
Then, after two singles, Sooryavanshi got the strike against Bumrah, who delivered the ball into the pitch and right outside off-stump. Sooryavanshi just demonstrated his enormous talent by picking up the delivery and hitting it for a massive six over the deep square leg.
Speaking about the same, Sunil Gavaskar admitted the contest had left a deep impression on him, given his love for the Mumbai Indians.
“It was absolutely fantastic to watch. I’m a Mumbai Indians supporter, so actually, in a way, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it, but for the fact that it was such a young kid, 15 years old, playing against the best bowler in all formats of the game,” Gavaskar said on JioHotStar.
The most interesting part was that Sooryavanshi wasn’t just swinging the bat and hitting blindly; he was calculating as per his strengths, reading length early, and committing fully to send the ball over the boundary ropes.
Gavaskar pointed out the same thing as Sooryavanshi did: something that most of the biggest batters in international cricket failed to do.
“Batters with great experience, great records under their belts, have not been able to take apart Jasprit Bumrah as he did in those first three deliveries. Those shots were not just going over the boundary rope; they were going into the stands. Sometimes you top-edge a ball, and it goes for a six—not that. He hit it off the middle of the bat,” he said.
Vaibhav’s knock has 5 sixes and 1 four, and Gavaskar neatly summed up the wider significance.
“These are exciting times. Here is the new kid on the block, and he’s showing the world,” he said.
RR will next face off with the defending champions RCB in Guwahati on April 10.