At just 15, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has already become a nightmare for bowlers this IPL season. Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene had revealed earlier that there was specific planning in place to counter the Sooryavanshi threat. Yet, a rare lapse from Jasprit Bumrah, arguably the best T20 bowler in the world, saw the prodigy smash him for two sixes in five balls, including one off the very first delivery.
“I played the ball and not the bowler,” he later said, underlining his maturity and composure.
If that wasn’t enough, Sooryavanshi went on to take apart Josh Hazlewood days later, smashing him for 19 runs in an over, including three boundaries and a six off consecutive deliveries. He followed that up with two straight sixes against Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
With 200 runs in five innings at a staggering strike rate of 263.15, the youngster, already an Orange Cap contender, had become a terror for bowlers in IPL 2026. But Hyderabad witnessed a rare anomaly on Monday evening.
At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sooryavanshi failed to get off the mark, dismissed for a golden duck for the first time in his T20 career.
How did that happen?
It came down to precise execution from Praful Hinge, backed by clear planning with bowling coach Varun Aaron.
Making his IPL debut against the in-form Rajasthan Royals, Praful was up against Sooryavanshi on the second ball of the first over. He banged it into the pitch, angling it into middle and leg, as the batter attempted to swipe it over cow corner.
Sooryavanshi went hard on the pull, but the ball hurried onto him, taking the top edge and ballooning straight up. Wicketkeeper Salil Arora settled under it and completed a simple catch.
For a batter known to attack from ball one, as seen against Shardul Thakur on debut and against Bumrah earlier this season, the golden duck sparked celebrations in the SRH camp.
It wasn’t just a plan, Praful had visualised it.
“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 collecting the Player of the Match award for his four-wicket haul.
While Praful credited Aaron for his guidance, the former India pacer downplayed his own role.
“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 in the post-match press conference.
“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.”
