Vaibhav Sooryavanshi turned into a genuine headache for opponents in this IPL season, and even Mumbai Indians’ best-in-class death-bowling reputation couldn’t fully shield them. Earlier, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene had pointed to the fact that there was a clear game plan prepared to handle the teen sensation. Still, a rare slip from Jasprit Bumrah—often considered the benchmark for T20 bowling—allowed Sooryavanshi to punish him for two maximums in just five deliveries, including a six that came off the very first ball. Bumrah later summed it up with a calm, understated line: “I played the ball and not the bowler.”
Sooryavanshi’s momentum didn’t cool after that either. Days later, he took Josh Hazlewood apart, landing 19 runs in a single over—featuring three boundaries and a six struck off consecutive deliveries. He then added a further statement with two straight sixes against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, continuing the pattern of turning bowlers into bystanders.
By the time the league moved through its fifth-inning phase, the youngster had already amassed 200 runs across five matches, striking at an eye-catching rate of 263.15. With that output, he was firmly in the mix for the Orange Cap and was increasingly being viewed as a nightmare matchup for any bowling unit trying to adjust on the fly. Yet on Monday evening, Hyderabad produced a rare twist in his story.
Sooryavanshi’s first T20 golden duck comes in Hyderabad
- At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Sooryavanshi faced Sunrisers Hyderabad and, for the first time in his T20 career, failed to score—departing for a golden duck.
- The reason behind the dismissal was pinned on sharp execution and a carefully thought-out approach from Praful Hinge, backed by planning involving bowling coach Varun Aaron.
- Hinge’s IPL debut had set the context: he was matched up with Sooryavanshi right away, bowling him on the second ball of the opening over against the in-form Rajasthan Royals.
- In that early contest, Hinge sent the ball skidding off a length toward the pitch, angling it to threaten both middle and leg as Sooryavanshi looked to play a swipe over cow corner.
- Sooryavanshi went for the pull, but the delivery hurried onto him, taking the top edge and sending the ball straight up into the air.
- Wicketkeeper Salil Arora stayed perfectly positioned and completed a straightforward catch, removing the batter after the attempted shot.
- For a batsman known for attacking from ball one—highlighted by his debut against Shardul Thakur and his earlier season impact versus Bumrah—that golden duck triggered visible celebrations inside the SRH camp.
Praful didn’t just describe the plan in general terms—he explained that he had specifically imagined the exact moment. “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,” he said after receiving the Player of the Match award for his four-wicket haul.
While Praful acknowledged Aaron’s support, Aaron himself played down the spotlight on his own contribution and framed it as belief built through conversation. “The conversation was that he wanted to go around the wicket, and I told him, ‘No, stay over the wicket. I’m sure you’ll get him out,’” Aaron said during the post-match press conference.
Aaron further clarified how the confidence and conviction were shared. “At the end of the day, all credit goes to Praful. He had the conviction. He said, ‘I’ve gotten Vaibhav out before, I’m going to get him out today.’ The plan was his, the belief was his — and I’m really happy for him.”
