Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene has opened up on Jasprit Bumrah's struggles against Rajasthan Royals' teenage-sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in a truncated 11-over per-side IPL 2026 game on Tuesday, April 7 in Guwahati.
Mumbai Indians coach defends Bumrah after struggle vs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has once again wreaked havoc by scoring 39 runs off just 14 deliveries, including five sixes and one four. The 15-year-old batter smashed two sixes against Bumrah in the second over of the first innings.
Rajasthan Royals' opening duo of Sooryvanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal built a strong foundation of 80 runs in the first five overs of the game which led to their final score of 150/3.
Reflecting on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's duel with Jasprit Bumrah, Mahela Jayawardene noted that the star Indian pacer missed his length by a small margin, and the RR opener was well prepared for it and capitalised on it.
"No, I think we all knew he is a great talent from the way he performed last year. We managed to control him last season, but every match is a challenge. He has really good skills, and for us, it’s about executing our skills. Bumrah probably missed his length by a little bit, and he was ready for it. So, yeah, it’ll be fascinating to see how he evolves. He really took our bowlers down," Said Mahela Jayawardene said in the post-match press conference.
Jayawardene also highlighted how instrumental Jaiswal was in Rajasthan's success, scoring 77 runs of 32 balls and appreciating his shot selection against a quality bowling line-up.
"And don’t forget, Jaiswal was key today. The way he batted in the first three overs, he took it on and played some really good cricketing shots. He batted through the innings for them, and that made a huge difference as well. So I think we have to understand what went wrong and then work on that," added Jayawardene.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's red-hot form in IPL 2026
Vaibhav Sooryavansi kicked off the IPL 2026 with a bang, as the 15-year-old batter has amassed 122 runs in just three games at an amazing strike rate of 278.57. So far in the tournament, Sooryavanshi has already smashed 10 fours and 11 sixes, consisting of a 15-ball half-century against Chennai Super Kings.
Rajasthan Royals' strong hold in IPL 2026
So far in the IPL 2026, Rajasthan Royals have managed to secure a win in the first three games. The Rajasthan-based franchise sits atop the points table with six points in hand after three games.