Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer admitted he was left stunned after Rajasthan Royals teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi powered RR to a dramatic chase of 221 in Jaipur on Tuesday, May 19.
The former Australia opener and national team coach described the 15-year-old as “scary for world cricket” after Sooryavanshi's 93 off 38 balls dismantled LSG's bowling attack and pushed Rajasthan into the fourth and final playoff spot.
“He was brilliant. We've seen it all season. He's the leading run scorer,” Langer said after the match.
“To see a young man bat like that not just tonight but throughout the tournament is breathtaking. My gosh, he's so young. He's a brilliant player and it's a real privilege to watch him bat actually.”
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Langer added that the frightening aspect for bowlers may be how much room the teenager still has to improve.
"And the scary thing is, the best way to learn how to make runs is to make runs, not by hitting some big sixes, and he makes runs over and over and over again.
“So the scary thing going forward, if the expressions on the face of Mitch Starc and Nortje and every bowler tell a story now, what about when he learns how to bat?” he said.
“He'll adapt, he'll keep getting better and better, which is scary for world cricket.”
The LSG coach even invoked Don Bradman while discussing how Sooryavanshi could succeed across conditions and formats.
“People say to me, would Bradman have made so many runs in the days where they could wear helmets? And I'd say he would adapt,” Langer said.
“Sooryavanshi's that good. Wherever he plays, he's going to adapt his game because where are they going to bowl to him?”
Sooryavanshi's innings itself was extraordinary for both its construction and output. The RR opener began cautiously, scoring just five runs off his first 10 balls while Yashasvi Jaiswal attacked from the other end. Once settled, however, he exploded.
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The teenager smashed 88 runs from his next 28 deliveries, finishing with seven fours and 10 sixes at a strike rate of 244.73, with 88 of his 93 runs coming through boundaries.
During the knock, Sooryavanshi became the youngest player to score 500 IPL runs in a season, the fastest batter to the milestone by balls faced (220), and the first player in IPL history to score 500-plus runs in a season at a strike rate above 200.
His tally of 53 maximums this season places him behind only Chris Gayle (59 sixes in 2012) for most sixes hit in a single IPL season with one league game still to go.
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