On May 29, 2026, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) faced off in the second Qualifier of the ongoing IPL 2026 competition. This game is being played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. RR's Riyan Parag won the toss and elected to bat.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (1) and Dhruv Jurel (7) fell early, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi chose to play more cautiously. He still managed to score 96 in 47 balls, including 8 fours and 7 sixes. Ravindra Jadeja scored 45*, and Donovan Ferreira hit 38* in 11 balls to propel RR to 214/6 in 20 overs.
As wickets fell all around him on a slowish surface, Sooryavanshi, who had just entered the game fresh off a 29-ball 93-run performance, appeared to be in the same frame of mind but with a lot of maturity.
GT bowlers tried everything to stop the Sooryavanshi juggernaut, including bowling short balls to his body from around the wicket. He was even hit near his ear by a bouncer in the 14th over, but the youngster showed great courage to continue playing.
However, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan was not happy about Gujarat pacers aiming for the body of the teenage sensation by bowling short balls.
“Body line bowling to stop 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi doesn’t fit well with me. I know he is playing against the big boys, but the father in me doesn’t agree with that,” Irfan Pathan posted on X.
While Irfan Pathan’s concerns were somewhat legit, cricket fans on social media disagreed with him, stating that Sooryavanshi is able to handle such bowling, given that he is playing top-level cricket and rubbing shoulders with international players.
Here are the posts:
