Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dismissed first ball by SRH debutant Praful Hinge.
The 15-year-old prodigy, who had dominated big names like Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood earlier in the season, was dismissed first ball by Praful Hinge.
SRH’s debutant pacer bowled a hard-length delivery that hurried the youngster, resulting in a top-edged pull shot that was safely caught by Salil Arora behind the stumps. Sooryavanshi’s wicket on zero led to a priceless reaction from SRH owner Kavya Maran.
As soon as the ball ballooned high into the air, Maran was seen rising from her seat and praying for the catch to be held. Once Arora safely completed the grab, she erupted into an exuberant celebration, underlining the importance of Sooryavanshi’s early dismissal for her team.
Praful Hinge did not stop there, continuing to create havoc with his pace. Dhruv Jurel, Lhuan dre-Pretorius and Riyan Parag were his other victims as the right-arm quick returned with the figures of 4/34 in four overs to script SRH’s 57-run victory over RR.
After receiving the Player-of-the-Match award, Hinge opened up on his pre-planned strategy to dismiss Sooryavanshi with a bouncer on the very first ball.
“The best one was the first wicket of Sooryavanshi, because he was in form. I had already told a couple of people that I would get him out on the very first ball, either with a bouncer or in some way. I just wanted his wicket on the first ball. That was the plan. Also, our bowling coach Varun bhai helped me a lot. And I’m thankful to everyone who supported me,” Hinge said at the post-match presentation.
Earlier, a blistering knock (91 off 44 balls) from captain Ishan Kishan propelled the Sunrisers to a formidable 216/6 in 20 overs.
In reply, RR’s innings folded for 159 in 19 overs. Donovan Ferreira (69 off 44) and Ravindra Jadeja (45 off 32) were the only bright spots during the chase as Royals endured their first defeat of the season.