Guwahati, March 30 Rajasthan Royals' 15-year-old batting sensation, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, said on Monday that the team's senior players and support staff, including head coach Kumar Sangakkara, have given him the freedom to continue playing his aggressive game.
The 15-year-old prodigy smashed a 50 off just 15 balls to help RR achieve an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings in their IPL opener here, three days after his birthday.
Although he missed the cake-cutting ceremony on his birthday, as he had gone to sleep early, Sooryavanshi belatedly celebrated turning a year older with his excellent performance on the field.
"I didn't really do anything special – there was supposed to be a cake-cutting ceremony, but I went to sleep early to avoid getting cake on me," Sooryavanshi said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
After dismissing CSK for 127, RR completed the chase in 12.1 overs.
"The plan for today was simply to execute well in the powerplay – initially, the wicket felt a bit difficult, but as the ball got older, it started coming onto the bat nicely," he said.
When asked about his approach with the bat, Sooryavanshi said, "I do think about defence, but today our plan was to control the game in the powerplay because in a small chase, that phase is crucial – if the bowling team does well there, the game can turn in their favor, but our powerplay went really well."
And about his aggressive intent, he added, "The coaches didn't specifically say that bowlers would attack me – everyone else was already saying that – but they just told me that they believe in me and that I should stick to my natural game and play according to the situation."
When asked about guidance from his senior opening partner Jaiswal, he said, "My opening partner keeps communicating with me after every ball – he tells me when to take singles, keeps giving me the strike, and encourages me to keep playing my shots if the ball is coming nicely onto the bat."
Pleased with the convincing victory in his first match as RR's full-time captain, Riyan Parag lavished praise on Sooryavanshi.
"I tell Vaibhav that you play 14 games, what happens in the game and in the media shouldn't bother you. I tell the coaches to let him play as long as he wants. We were in awe watching him in the nets. "
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad believed that the conditions were difficult at the beginning of the match, in which Parag opted to bowl first after winning the toss.
"I felt the conditions at the start were tough, especially against Jofra (Archer). It was tough against medium pacers, and the spinners were also getting assistance. Maybe we could have batted deeper, but you never know what a good score will be these days, so we had to keep going," Gaikwad said.