IPL 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shocks Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya applauds
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old opening batsman for the Rajasthan Royals, has wreaked havoc with his bat over the past year. Having made his debut in the 2025 IPL, this batsman has already taken several renowned bowlers in world cricket to task, and his brilliance continues unabated in the 2026 IPL as well. However, some observers believed that his true potential would only be accurately gauged when he stepped out to bat against the Mumbai Indians, specifically, against Jasprit Bumrah. Yet, the young batsman maintained his aggressive approach even against Jasprit Bumrah, proving his mettle by smashing two sixes in a single over against him.
In the match played between the Rajasthan Royals and the Mumbai Indians at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on April 7, 2026, Sooryavanshi started his innings by hitting a six off the very first delivery bowled by Jasprit Bumrah, who had come on to bowl the second over of the innings. That delivery landed right in the slot, allowing Sooryavanshi to play a shot over long-on in his signature style. Furthermore, on the fourth delivery of the same over, which Bumrah had pitched short, he once again sent the ball sailing over the boundary. With this feat, he has become only the second batsman, after Virat Kohli, to hit two sixes off Jasprit Bumrah during the IPL Powerplay. Kohli remains the only batter to have hit Bumrah for three sixes inside the powerplay in the IPL, but Suryavanshi came remarkably close to creating his own slice of history. The Bihar-born cricketer scored 39 runs off 14 balls, including 5 sixes.
The experienced players on the MI team were left in shock by his batting. During the match, even seasoned players such as Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rohit Sharma appeared visibly troubled by Sooryavanshi's batting prowess. Following the match, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya praised Sooryavanshi and wished him good luck for the future.
“It's quite fascinating to see a 15-year-old boy playing the way he played. At the same point of time, discussing so much about him in the preparation leading up to the game. So yeah, amazing to see the way he bats, the kind of fearlessness he has, the kind of shots he has,” Hardik told the host broadcaster after the loss against the Rajasthan Royals. “I wish him absolute good luck in the future,” he added
In fact, right after the match ended, just as the MI skipper was about to shake hands with Sooryavanshi, he paused for a moment. Witnessing this, the 15-year-old player, too, appeared overwhelmed by the moment. Subsequently, Hardik repeatedly patted Suryavanshi on the chest, offered him his full support, and lauded his talent before the entire world.
Speaking of the game, the match was reduced to 11 overs per side due to rain. MI Captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl; however, this decision appeared to backfire from the very first delivery, as Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed 22 runs off Deepak Chahar in the opening over of the innings. Subsequently, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also made his intentions clear by hitting two sixes during Jasprit Bumrah's over. He scored 39 runs off just 14 deliveries, while Yashasvi Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 77 runs off only 32 balls, an innings that included 10 fours and 4 sixes. Powered by the magnificent hitting of this duo, RR posted a total of 150 runs in their allotted 11 overs while batting first.
Chasing a mammoth target of 151 runs, MI got off to a dismal start and could only manage to reach 123/9. This marks RR's third consecutive victory in the tournament, and with this win, they have surged to the number 1 position on the points table. Conversely, this is MI's second consecutive defeat in three matches, and they have currently slipped to the 7th position with just 2 points.
