Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was again out on a bouncer against Afghanistan A, missing his half-century after scoring 44 runs.
The most worrying aspect is that Vaibhav was dismissed by the same type of delivery that had ended his innings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – a lethal bouncer outside the off-stump.
The Afghanistan A bowlers adopted the same strategy against Vaibhav that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had used in the IPL. In the Eliminator match, SRH had tempted Vaibhav to play a shot by consistently bowling bouncers outside the off-stump.
In that match, he was caught at third-man. Speaking about his mistake then, Vaibhav had said,
"I tried to play the fielder instead of the ball."
Something similar was witnessed in Dambulla. Afghan bowler Abdullah Ahmadzai came round the wicket and gave Vaibhav no room to free his arms.
He consistently bowled away from his body. Eventually, Vaibhav couldn't resist a well-directed bouncer bowled on the line of the fifth stump.
The attempt to cut the ball proved costly as the outer edge carried the ball straight into the wicketkeeper's gloves. Upon getting out, Vaibhav immediately acknowledged his mistake.
Although Vaibhav missed his half-century, he showed a brilliant glimpse of the future in his short innings. He scored 44 runs off just 22 balls at a blistering strike rate of 200.
In this innings, he took the Afghan bowlers to the cleaners. Afghanistan had set a strong off-side field for him, but Vaibhav showed no haste.
He played the balls very late and found the gaps between the fielders with great ease. His batting displayed a wonderful mix of maturity and aggression.
There was also a moment during the innings when fans were reminded of the great Sachin Tendulkar. Vaibhav stood on his toes and played a magnificent cover-drive off the back foot.
This shot was reminiscent of the shots played by a young Sachin during the 1991-92 tour of Australia. It shows how much talent this young player possesses.
Vaibhav had also performed brilliantly under pressure for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier-2 of the IPL. This innings once again proved that he is ready for the big stage, he just needs to work on his one weakness.
This innings serves as a lesson for Vaibhav. There is no lack of talent in him, but to succeed at the international level, he will have to strengthen his game against the bouncer outside the off-stump.
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