Who wins the battle? Vaibhav Sooryavanshi or Kagiso Rabada? Sooryavanshi or Rabada? So on and so forth. Just along the lines of, “she loves me, she loves me not.” The famous plucking petals game!
The Qualifier 2 is here later tonight, and Gujarat Titans must be trying hard to find ways to get rid of teenage star Sooryavanshi early on in the contest to have any chance in the match.
If you have been playing that famous game ahead of Qualifier 2, you are anxious for sure.
The kind of form Sooryavanshi has been in this season, opposition teams are wary of him. Just in the Eliminator on Wednesday, Sooryavanshi turned a Terminator, and his 29-ball 97 went a long way towards RR’s comfortable 47-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The 15-year-old hit 12 sixes, and if he had got three runs off his 29th ball, instead of unfortunately getting out, he would have scored the fastest century in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Is there anyone in GT’s ranks who can stop the phenom that Sooryavanshi has become this season? Yes, he can be stopped by none other than Kagiso Rabada. At present, it would be suicidal to wager against Sooryavanshi, but if anyone can stop him tonight in New Chandigarh, it is the South African pacer, who is just behind Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the Purple Cap race. In fact, both have taken 26 wickets each. It is just that Bhuvi’s economy rate is much superior to that of Rabada.
All season, Rabada has bowled fast. His pace is going to be an asset for sure. Last time when GT and RR were lined up against each other, it was a very quick, short delivery — upwards of 90 miles per hour — from Mohammed Siraj that had done for Sooryavanshi. The Bihar superstar has a tendency to go for his shots, no matter the nature of the ball, and sometimes it costs him dear.
Most batsmen in world cricket find it difficult against short-pitched deliveries. And if it’s quick, it becomes lethal. Even if it is not that quick but it’s well-directed and bowled to the field, it can get the desired results. Praful Hinge got him out for 97 on Wednesday, employing similar tactics.
It was the second time this season Hinge did that to Sooryavanshi. In another match earlier in the season, the pacer had accounted for the youngest centurion in List A cricket in similar fashion in terms of the basic nature of the delivery.
So there is enough evidence that Sooryavanshi can be troubled with a short delivery. When the ball is on the fuller side on a good batting track, he can be unstoppable. Those balls can come in handy on a slow, two-paced pitches but on true wickets, there is no hope in hell against Sooryavanshi.
The same venue as the Eliminator, the New Chandigarh pitch has some bounce to offer, even though it’s largely good for batters. Rabada can get lucky too with that, if truth be told. He can look to exploit that chink in Sooryavanshi’s armour.
Rabada doesn’t have fear of getting hit!
Temperament-wise, too, Rabada can be more than a handful. The South African, who turned 31 earlier this week, is one of the few bowlers who has reconciled with the fact that batsmen have the upper hand in T20s and that there is no point in getting rattled when a batsman is in his element. Just keep patience and keep trying to outwit him.
Because Rabada is not going to panic, he has a serious chance against Sooryavanshi.
Another thing that goes in favour of Rabada is that he can keep Sooryavanshi guessing thanks to a wide array of deliveries he has at his disposal having played so much cricket at the highest level. He just has to surprise the young batter. He has to avoid being predictable at all costs. It’s easier said than done though!
