Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got out for 14 (10) on his international debut against England in the second T20I in Manchester on Saturday (July 14). He showed glimpses of his excellent skills, hitting two sixes against Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue, but got out stumped against part-time off-spinner Will Jacks.
Sooryavanshi endured a testing start against Tongue, also making his T20I debut for England, twice beaten by sharp pace and extra bounce while attempting aggressive strokes. The young left-hander was clearly struggling to adjust to the bounce at Old Trafford, just like his partner, Abhishek Sharma. He only got off the mark by squeezing a yorker off a thick inside edge for a single.
His statement moment arrived against his Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammate,
Jofra Archer, as he backed away, dropped to one knee and expertly lofted the England quick over the wicketkeeper for a spectacular first international six. Archer responded with a hostile bouncer and a pinpoint yorker to stymie his scoring.
But Sooryavanshi struck again when Tongue served up a slower ball in his arc, dispatching it deep over midwicket for another towering maximum.
A leg bye followed before he looked to continue the assault against Jacks. After defending one delivery, Sooryavanshi charged down the track to a quicker, flatter ball outside off, only to be deceived by the change of pace and miss an attempted cut. Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler completed a neat stumping, ending an entertaining cameo that featured two sixes and plenty of attacking intent.
This was the first instance of an Indian batter getting out stumped on their T20I debut.
Why is patience key for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi?
Impatience is the name of the game in T20Is, but India will need to show the opposite of that with Sooryavanshi.
Players who can score 776 runs at a record-breaking strike rate with a record-breaking number of sixes aren’t born every day, and when playing in a frickle format, he’ll need at least four to five games to show his mettle. Sooryavanshi’s batting is all about taking selfless risks for the team and that’ll come with similar dismissals which would look unnecessary but that’s exactly what India need in the long run.
