{"id":1196,"date":"2026-04-08T12:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:15:12","slug":"dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power","title":{"rendered":"Dale Steyn Warns Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Has IPL \u201cMind-Game\u201d Power"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former South Africa speedster Dale Steyn has suggested that Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is already creating a psychological advantage for himself in IPL cricket\u2014one that can rattle even elite bowlers. Steyn highlighted how, during RR\u2019s match against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, Sooryavanshi\u2019s attacking reputation appeared to force Jasprit Bumrah into an unusually cautious mindset, leading to a costly misjudgement.<\/p>\n

Steyn\u2019s view: fear factor behind Sooryavanshi\u2019s batting<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Steyn pointed to the early impact of Sooryavanshi\u2019s intent, saying the youngster\u2019s approach has \u201ccreated and instilled fear\u201d in bowlers that he will punish them for boundaries.<\/li>\n
  2. He specifically referenced the first-ball moment in the clash versus MI, when Sooryavanshi struck Bumrah over mid-on\u2014an aggressive statement that Steyn believes shapes how opposition bowlers plan their deliveries.<\/li>\n
  3. Steyn said the rarity of this was that even Bumrah, typically so precise, seemed to be thinking twice, as if weighing the risk of going wrong against the danger of being hit for six.<\/li>\n
  4. To illustrate that mental shift, Steyn noted Bumrah\u2019s delivery was \u201cin the slot,\u201d and emphasised how unusual it is for a bowler of Bumrah\u2019s calibre to miss his line or length in such a way.<\/li>\n
  5. Steyn added that when a batter is backed by that kind of fearless mindset, bowlers who start thinking in that manner more often than not end up delivering the wrong ball.<\/li>\n
  6. He further explained that even after Sooryavanshi struck for six, Bumrah appeared to react as though he knew the outcome if he got it wrong\u2014something Steyn linked directly to the pressure the opener generates.<\/li>\n
  7. Steyn concluded that Sooryavanshi is not intimidated by anyone, arguing that if a bowler strays even slightly\u2014like offering a half-volley\u2014the opener can punish it immediately, regardless of reputation.<\/li>\n
  8. In Steyn\u2019s words, the safest option for bowlers is to stick to their best length; otherwise, the batter\u2019s aggression turns missed opportunities into big distances and big scoring.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Beyond the psychological angle, the match itself underlined Steyn\u2019s point about Sooryavanshi\u2019s impact. RR powered their innings with an explosive 80-run opening partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, going on to defeat Mumbai Indians by 27 runs in a rain-affected encounter at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

    That triumph also marked RR\u2019s third consecutive win in the IPL 2026 season. Sooryavanshi finished with 39 runs from only 14 balls, striking two sixes off Bumrah and adding three more maximums against other bowlers. Jaiswal, meanwhile, stayed unbeaten on 77 off 32 deliveries as RR set a platform that MI could not overhaul in the curtailed game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Former South Africa speedster Dale Steyn has suggested that Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is already creating a psychological advantage for himself in IPL cricket\u2014one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Dale Steyn\u2019s IPL Mind Games: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Fear","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Dale Steyn says RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s fearless approach is a mind-game weapon in IPL, even unsettling Jasprit Bumrah\u2019s plans.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\nDale Steyn\u2019s IPL Mind Games: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Fear<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dale Steyn says RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s fearless approach is a mind-game weapon in IPL, even unsettling Jasprit Bumrah\u2019s plans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dale Steyn\u2019s IPL Mind Games: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Fear\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dale Steyn says RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s fearless approach is a mind-game weapon in IPL, even unsettling Jasprit Bumrah\u2019s plans.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"1Win India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-08T12:15:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1136\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"headline\":\"Dale Steyn Warns Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Has IPL \u201cMind-Game\u201d Power\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-08T12:15:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power\"},\"wordCount\":442,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"IPL\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power\",\"name\":\"Dale Steyn\u2019s IPL Mind Games: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Fear\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-08T12:15:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"description\":\"Dale Steyn says RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s fearless approach is a mind-game weapon in IPL, even unsettling Jasprit Bumrah\u2019s plans.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp\",\"width\":1136,\"height\":707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dale Steyn Warns Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Has IPL \u201cMind-Game\u201d Power\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\",\"name\":\"1Win India\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\",\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arjun Patel\"},\"description\":\"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/author\\\/arjunpatel\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dale Steyn\u2019s IPL Mind Games: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Fear","description":"Dale Steyn says RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s fearless approach is a mind-game weapon in IPL, even unsettling Jasprit Bumrah\u2019s plans.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dale Steyn\u2019s IPL Mind Games: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Fear","og_description":"Dale Steyn says RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s fearless approach is a mind-game weapon in IPL, even unsettling Jasprit Bumrah\u2019s plans.","og_url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power","og_site_name":"1Win India","article_published_time":"2026-04-08T12:15:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1136,"height":707,"url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Arjun Patel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arjun Patel","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power"},"author":{"name":"Arjun Patel","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"headline":"Dale Steyn Warns Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Has IPL \u201cMind-Game\u201d Power","datePublished":"2026-04-08T12:15:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power"},"wordCount":442,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp","articleSection":["IPL"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power","name":"Dale Steyn\u2019s IPL Mind Games: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Fear","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp","datePublished":"2026-04-08T12:15:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"description":"Dale Steyn says RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s fearless approach is a mind-game weapon in IPL, even unsettling Jasprit Bumrah\u2019s plans.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/quot-instilled-fear-quot-dale-7304.webp","width":1136,"height":707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-warns-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-has-ipl-mind-game-power#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dale Steyn Warns Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Has IPL \u201cMind-Game\u201d Power"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/","name":"1Win India","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e","name":"Arjun Patel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arjun Patel"},"description":"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/author\/arjunpatel"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}