Legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble heaped praise on Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after the youngster produced a standout batting performance against Jasprit Bumrah, one of the toughest bowlers in world cricket. Kumble pointed out that Sooryavanshi didn’t just survive Bumrah’s pace and variations—he appeared to take control of the matchup, reading the seam bowler’s changes early and responding with intent. The former India captain highlighted how the batter anticipated Bumrah’s slower delivery and then attacked it, turning the ball into scoring opportunities with aggressive, high-tempo strokeplay. Kumble also underlined the consistency behind the moment, noting that Sooryavanshi’s strike rate and regular run-making have been exceptional. “Sooryavanshi makes it look easy against one of the world’s best bowlers. First ball, he hits him for a six and then sets him up. He set the bowler up, not the other way around. We’ve generally seen Bumrah set up batters so many times, but here, Sooryavanshi set Bumrah up to bowl that slower ball on the third delivery, and he was waiting for it to hit him for another six. It was brilliant batting by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, just the way he strikes the ball and the consistency he has shown in terms of strike-rate. He is striking at close to 300 in every game and scoring more than 30 runs consistently, which is outstanding,” Kumble said on JioHotstar.
Sooryavanshi’s surge came in RR’s Indian Premier League clash with the Mumbai Indians (MI) at Guwahati, where rain forced the contest into an 11-overs-per-side affair. Facing Bumrah for the first time in his IPL career, the right-handed batter struck immediately, smashing the star seamer for two huge sixes in the second over of RR’s innings. Although his stay at the crease was brief, it was electrifying—he finished with 39 runs off just 14 deliveries, leaving little doubt about his timing and willingness to take on the fastest bowler at the top level.
RR’s chase-friendly platform was built by the partnership of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi, who took the initiative from the outset. Jaiswal struck a rapid 77 not out off 32 balls, while Sooryavanshi added 39 off 14 in a similarly punchy spell. Together, they propelled RR to 150 for 3 before MI were limited to 123 for 9 in the reduced-overs game.
When MI began their run chase, they struggled to find the right rhythm and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Burger was among the most effective with figures of 2/21, while Sandeep took 2/25 and Bishnoi chipped in with 2/26, ensuring RR controlled the middle overs and prevented any late momentum from developing.
The result kept RR firmly in the race for the top spot, with the franchise sitting at the head of the points table after three matches from three, backed by “sensational results” under skipper Riyan Parag. MI, meanwhile, are still searching for consistency early in the season. After beginning with a win against Delhi Capitals (DC), they suffered defeats against DC and RR and now find themselves placed seventh in the points standings.
