CHENNAI: Just two days ago, on Monday, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had made his intentions clear, “I want to be the first to score a 200 in T20s”. On Wednesday, when he was on 97 off 28 deliveries, it seemed like the kid would do exactly as he said, and smash the first-ever double century in the shortest format of the sport. In the past too, cricketers have been ambitious, and many have dreamed quite high only to crash to the lowest of lows.
But the youngster from Bihar is quite from a different cloth, he doesn’t fit into your realm of requirements for a youngster, as all he dreams of is hitting much taller and mightier bowlers for a huge six even if they are twice his age. When it was confirmed that Rajasthan Royals would take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, everyone assumed that Pat Cummins had something in store for the young Sooryavanshi. As it turns out, the youngster had something for Cummins, giving him one of his biggest nightmares as a captain, as he peppered the ball into the night sky with so much ease.
While saying stuff like ‘I will hit a 200’ will lead to incessant trolling, in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s case, it seems like something that’s destined to happen
The 15-year-old spared none on the night, including Cummins, who got the treatment in the first over, when he lofted one over the long-off region. It was just the start of the night, as Sooryavanshi later on went to attack Cummins more fiercely, smashing him for 23 runs in his second over, where he hit three sixes and a four—one bigger and bolder—than the other. When he smashed Sakib Hussain for his sixth maximum on the night, he had matched Chris Gayle’s alltime IPL record of 59 sixes in a season, a record that seemed beyond the reach for humans. Two balls later, that tally turned 60, as the neutral crowd went ballistic at Mullanpur. Just when people thought that there’s no more gear to his game, he turned it up like he revved up a Ferrari, and pushed SRH so back that they would have least imagined.
Every shot was a highlight package, which could have run as its own, even in the day and age of short-form content. And as he took on Praful Hinge, Gayle’s other record—fastest IPL century—also seemed to be under threat, as he notched up 26 runs, and was just one boundary away from smashing an IPL century in 29 deliveries, and in a playoff encounter. 97 off 29 deliveries, it is a knock that certainly gave goosebumps to the opposition, leave alone the fans. He might not have a driving license yet but he’s sure driving a cricket-crazy country, mad.