Saba Karim hails Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, says opener's 'era has begun'

Saba Karim hailed Rajasthan Royals' 15-year-old batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying his 'era has begun' after a match-winning 78 off 26 balls against RCB. Sanjay Bangar also praised teammate Dhruv Jurel's sensational half-century.

'Era of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has begun': Saba Karim

Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim hailed the Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, for his knock against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), saying that the opener's "era has begun", noting how his strike rotation after a fiery powerplay start reflects a "sound mindset". The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi continued to deliver merciless hitting against the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood, single-handedly snatching the match from defending champions within the powerplay itself with a knock of 78 in 26 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes.

Speaking on 'Star Sports Cricket Live', JioStar expert Karim termed Vaibhav's knock as an "astounding display". "It feels like the era of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has just begun, and it's a pleasure to watch him bat. There is an abundance of talent, combined with confident stroke play and a mature approach. He looked equally comfortable against pace and quality spin, with shots all around the wicket. It also seemed like he was building towards a hundred, after his aggressive start in the Powerplay. He began rotating the strike and looking for singles. Unfortunately, it didn't materialise, but it reflects a very sound mindset," he added. In four matches, Suryavanshi has scored 200 matches at an average of 50.00 and a strike rate of 266.66, with two fifties and a best score of 78, currently holding the Orange Cap for most runs this season.

'Fantastic batting display': Sanjay Bangar on Dhruv Jurel

Also, JioStar expert Sanjay Bangar hailed Dhruv Jurel's sensational half-century at number three, pointing out his efficiency on both on-side and off-side. "RCB tried to bowl slightly wider to him, especially since in the last match, he had scored nearly 80 per cent of his runs on the onside. However, he was equally strong on the offside, which shows there are very few areas where you can contain a batter like him in this format. It was a fantastic batting display," he added.

Match Summary

Coming to the match, RCB was put to bowl first. Courtesy stand-out knocks from skipper Rajat Patidar (63 in 40 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes), Virat Kohli (32 in 16 balls, with seven fours) and Venkatesh Iyer (29* in 15 balls, with a four and two sixes), RCB managed to put up 201/8 despite wickets falling regularly. Ravi Bishnoi (2/32), Jofra Archer (2/33 in three overs) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) were the top wicket-takers for RR.

During the run-chase, knocks from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (78 in 26 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (81* in 43 balls, with eight fours and three sixes) outbatted RCB completely out of the game, chased down the total with two overs and six wickets in hand. While RR went four wins in four matches, RCB lost their first game after two wins.

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