Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi finished his second IPL (Indian Premier League) season with 776 runs in 16 innings at an average of 48.50 and a strike
rate of 237.31. In Qualifier 2, he smashed 96 off 47 balls in testing conditions as Gujarat Titans' experienced pace attack, comprising veterans like Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj, got the ball to seam and swing at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Friday, May 29.
Ravichandran Ashwin mentioned that while Suryavanshi played several remarkable knocks during the campaign, it was the southpaw's gutsy effort against the Titans that impressed the former India spinner the most.
"I'm actually disappointed. He played a lot of good knocks in this IPL and scored almost 800 runs, but the high point for me was his innings today," Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
"Yes, he definitely had luck, but the wicket was helping the bowlers, and the bowlers were Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, and Jason Holder, who have bowled really well in Test cricket. He got some luck against them, and there was a dropped catch. But the way he handled the pitch and changed his shots, he deserved better," he added.
"Rajasthan Royals let down that young boy's incredible innings" - R Ashwin on Vaibhav Suryavanshi's heroics
On the back of Suryavanshi's blitzkrieg, the Royals finished on 214/6 after winning the toss and opting to bat first. However, Shubman Gill's classy century in the second innings and an important fifty from Sai Sudharsan set up a seven-wicket win for the Titans with eight balls to spare. Ashwin said that the 15-year-old Suryavanshi was understandably disappointed after finishing on the losing side. The cricketer-turned-expert added that his teammates let his magnificent innings down.
"Rajasthan Royals let down that young boy's incredible innings. Incredible innings is actually not enough words to explain Vaibhav Suryavanshi. If you looked at his face after the match, you could see disappointment," Ashwin said.
"The 15-year-old kid just has in his mind that he has to make his team win. Rajasthan Royals were not in the game right from the start. He was the one person who stood between RR losing and winning the game," Ashwin added in the same video," he added.
