Vaibhav Sooryavanshi admitted that he was nervous against Jasprit Bumrah on Tuesday. Sooryavanshi's face-off against Bumrah proved to be blockbuster entertainment for fans. The battle took place during Rajasthan Royals' IPL 2026 clash vs Mumbai Indians in Guwahati. Rain delayed the first innings, and the match was delayed to 11 overs per side.
Opening with Yashasvi Jaiwal in the first innings for RR, Sooryavanshi faced Bumrah in the second over, and he took an attacking approach right from the get-go. In the first delivery, Bumrah missed his mark and offered it in the slot; Vaibhav smacked it over wide long-on for a six. Then he took a single, followed by Jaiswal doing the same in the third delivery. Then, in the fourth ball, Bumrah sent a short, slow delivery down leg side; the teenager pulled it high and deep into the stands beyond backward square leg for a six. The over ended with back-to-back dots.
Also Read: Kuldeep said 'trust me', Miller agreed but backed out: Steyn, Rayudu call it a blunder that will cost DC massively
Sooryavanshi was dismissed in the fifth over, losing his wicket to Shardul Thakur for 39 off 13 balls, packed with four and five sixes.
Speaking to RR's social media handle after the match, Sooryavanshi opened up on facing the veteran pacer.
"It didn't feel like much, sir. I was just trying to focus on the ball, rather than the bowler. I was a bit nervous, because such a big bowler was in front of me. But I tried to back my own game and play the ball instead of the game," he said.
Revealing why he went early for his drills a day before the match, he said, "Those drills help a lot because we do them from a short distance and he throws them very fast. It gives you extra time when you finally face the bowler. After the last game, I felt there were one or two points, I needed to work on to help my batting. That's why I went early yesterday and it definitely helped in the game today."
"In the last two innings, I have been getting out after playing good shots. Even in the first match, it was a good shot but it went straight to the fielder. I feel like if I had played the whole innings today, the score would have been much bigger," he added.
Other than Sooryavanshi's knock, Jaiswal smacked an unbeaten knock of 77* runs off 32 balls as RR got to 150/3 in 11 overs. In response, MI were restricted to 123/9 in 11 overs as Rajasthan went on to win by 27 runs.