Rajasthan Royals batter Dhruv Jurel on Friday said teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s fearless strokeplay not only dismantles opposition attacks but also boosts the confidence of his teammates, even as it tempts them to take more risks.
The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi lit up the contest with a stunning 78 off 26 balls, powering RR to a comfortable six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru while chasing 202.
Jurel, who walked in at No. 3, said batting alongside the youngster creates a unique mix of confidence and pressure in the middle.
“When I go in, he makes it look really easy. You walk in and he’s smashing every ball, so you start to feel like nothing is happening on the wicket. But inside, you know cricket isn’t as easy as he’s making it look,” Jurel said at the post-match press conference.
The wicketkeeper-batter admitted that Sooryavanshi’s aggressive approach often pushes others to raise their own scoring rate.
“When you walk in, there’s also that pressure — you feel like, ‘He’s doing it, I need to do the same.’ At the same time, it feels easier because you think the wicket is good if he’s batting like that. So it works both ways,” he added.
Sooryavanshi’s whirlwind knock, which included a 15-ball half-century, set the tone early as RR raced to one of the fastest powerplay totals of the season.
Jurel complemented the youngster with a fluent unbeaten 76, stitching together a crucial partnership that effectively took the game away from RCB.
He said the momentum created by Sooryavanshi allowed him to play with more freedom.
“We were around 65-70 after five overs, and I was just telling myself to cash in and make it count. From the other end, the way he bats is phenomenal,” Jurel said.
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