The ever-evolving Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on Tuesday unleashed a fresh new shot from his batting arsenal as he took a leaf out of MS Dhoni’s book to execute the helicopter shot, not once, but twice, during his knock against the Punjab Kings at the New Chandigarh Stadium.
The first came on the fourth ball of the second over, when Lockie Ferguson bowled a fuller delivery onto his pads. Sooryavanshi disdainfully flicked it with absolute power, using his wrists to emulate the helicopter shot straight out of Dhoni’s playbook. There was no follow-through, but it carried a touch of swagger as the ball sailed over mid-wicket for six.
The second came on the first ball of the fourth over, when Arshdeep Singh angled a fuller delivery onto leg stump. Sooryavanshi got forward and whipped it with a bat twirl—another helicopter shot—to smash it over mid-wicket for six.
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Sooryavanshi was eventually dismissed on the very next ball, with Arshdeep removing him for 43 off 16 as Punjab Kings heaved a sigh of relief. It was a much-needed breakthrough for the home side, especially with the 15-year-old creating mayhem with his three boundaries and five sixes in the powerplay, where Rajasthan Royals surged to 51 runs inside the first 19 balls.
Sooryavanshi has been a nightmare for opposition bowlers in the powerplay, smashing 319 runs in that phase off just 130 balls, at a strike rate of 245.4.
Overall, the Rajasthan Royals opener has 400 runs this season in nine innings at a strike rate of 238.09, with one century and two fifties. He is currently the highest run-scorer this season, holding the Orange Cap for the second time.
Earlier in the match, Prabhsimran Singh (59 off 44) set the tone for Punjab Kings, ably assisted by Priyansh Arya (29 off 11) and Cooper Connolly (30 off 14), before the Rajasthan Royals bowlers pulled things back in the middle overs to choke the run-scoring. However, Marcus Stoinis bludgeoned his way to an unbeaten 62 off 22 balls, smashing six sixes and four boundaries to give Punjab much-needed momentum. His knock helped Punjab score 55 runs in the final three overs as they set a target of 223.