At the Eden Gardens on Sunday, a noticeably different version of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took the field. The teenage Rajasthan Royals (RR) sensation, spotted working on his defense alongside opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal during the warm-up ahead of an Indian Premier League clash with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), carried that preparation into the game itself.

Typically known for his aggressive, free-flowing strokeplay from the outset, Sooryavanshi showed a more measured approach on a surface that played slower than expected. He geared 30 per cent of his shots towards strike rotation, while a further 3.3 per cent were purely defensive during his 28-ball 46.

Asked about the same, RR’s lead assistant coach Vikram Rathour didn’t want to take any credit away from the youngster. “It was entirely Vaibhav’s decision. He’s been asked to back his instinct. The surface was slow. However, we didn’t expect it to be this slow. They played accordingly. We assess every situation and adapt. They did that brilliantly in the first 10 overs,” he said.

The conversation around Sooryavanshi eventually trickled down to the KKR press conference as well. Spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, while answering a specific query on Sooryavanshi’s first-ball six against Jasprit Bumrah in an earlier game in Guwahati, said, “Don’t say that he didn’t respect Bumrah and all. That pitch was conducive for batting. This pitch was such that the ball was not coming onto the bat properly. Against Bumrah, the pitch was batting-friendly, and the ball just happened to be in the slot. That’s why it happened.”

Published on Apr 19, 2026