AB de Villiers, Anil Kumble hail Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s fearless 97 in IPL Eliminator

AB de Villiers and Anil Kumble have praised 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi for his fearless 97 off 29 balls in an IPL Eliminator. The legends highlighted his composure, maturity and match awareness, calling his performance extraordinary and game-changing under pressure.

Hyderabad: “What stood out most about Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s innings was his composure and clarity under pressure at just 15 years of age. Pat Cummins and Sunrisers Hyderabad kept trying different plans, constantly changing the field and mixing their lengths to disrupt his rhythm, but he stayed completely locked into his own bubble throughout the innings,” says South African legend and JioStar Expert AB de Villiers on ioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’.

“That level of game awareness in a knockout match is remarkable for someone so young. Whether they bowled short or tried to surprise him with fuller deliveries, he seemed prepared for every plan and was in control against all of them. Scoring 97 off just 29 balls in an Eliminator, while dominating all parts of the ground, was an extraordinary display of fearless batting and showed why he is already being spoken about alongside some of the most explosive players the IPL has seen,” he said. On Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s pre-match routines, de Villiers said: “What’s most impressive about Vaibhav Suryavanshi is the clarity he already has around his preparation and routines at just 15 years of age. Hearing him talk about visualising match-ups, studying bowlers, and mentally preparing before games shows a level of maturity that is very rare at that age. It actually reminded me a little of Matthew Hayden, who used to spend time visualising on the pitch before batting.”

---

“ Over the course of his career, many of those routines will evolve, but the important thing is that Vaibhav is already building his own habits and processes instead of trying to copy others. The best players in the world eventually discover what works authentically for them, and Vaibhav already seems to have that understanding very early in his journey,” the South African great said. JioStar expert Anil Kumble praised Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s fearless approach and impact on RR’s campaign: “Vaibhav Suryavanshi has shown throughout the season that pressure simply doesn’t seem to affect him, and this innings was another example of that. In just 29 balls, he completely changed the direction of the game and put Sunrisers Hyderabad under immense pressure right from the start. Pat Cummins and the bowlers came in with plans, but within the first couple of overs those plans were already disrupted because they simply didn’t know where to bowl to him,” Kumble explained.

“To play an innings of this magnitude in a knockout game at the age of 15 is extraordinary. One of the biggest reasons Rajasthan Royals are now in Qualifier 2 is because of the impact he has had throughout the tournament, and holding the Orange Cap at this stage only highlights how remarkable his season has been,” he said.