Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s audacious strokeplay will come up against seam-and-swing master Mitchell Starc as Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals lock horns in a high-stakes IPL clash with playoff hopes hanging by a thread.
While DC’s qualification chances (10 points from 12 games) are already slim, a defeat would officially knock them out of the playoff race. For the Royals (12 points from 11 games), the week-long break is expected to have rejuvenated the squad. They would not want DC to play party poopers and allow Punjab Kings (13 points from 12 games) to breathe easy.
No teenager since the genius Sachin Tendulkar has captured the public imagination quite like the schoolboy from Samastipur in Bihar, who already boasts of a sizeable fan base. His “Capital Debut” at the Ferozeshah Kotla is no less than the cricketing equivalent of a “Met Gala” with the who's who of NCR clamouring for free passes.
Delhi Capitals’ fan base remains something of a paradox in the IPL’s 19 years of existence. When Royal Challengers Bengaluru play at the Kotla, the crowd rallies behind Virat Kohli, while the arrival of Chennai Super Kings turns the stands canary yellow, with jerseys bearing the iconic No. 7 of MS Dhoni dominating the scene.
Having failed to build an organic fan base, it is hardly surprising that fans queueing up at the Kotla turnstiles would be there to watch their chubby-cheeked hero in the flesh for the first time. But amid this hype, the sub-plot that will intrigue one and all would be how Starc can stop a marauding Sooryavanshi, who has hit 40 sixes in 11 games, while scoring 440 runs at a stunning strike-rate of 236.55.
Over the years, Starc has blown hot and cold during IPL seasons. There have been matches where he has been taken to the cleaners by unheralded Indian batters, and there have been matches like the 2024 IPL final, when he set up KKR’s title win with the most memorable opening spell in nearly two decades.
One wouldn't know which Starc would turn up this Sunday but if it is Test bowler Mitchell Starc, Sooryavanshi may face a tough time. If the Aussie veteran, with more than 400 Test victims, gets early seam and swing, it will be a test of Sooryavanshi's technique as the teenager's game is more about hand-eye co-ordination than footwork.
Of late, DC have been playing on tracks which aren't exactly very high scoring but the lack of bite in their international spin attack, comprising skipper Axar Patel (10 wickets from 12 games) and Kuldeep Yadav (7 wickets from 11 games), has been the problem. Neither has the duo been penetrative nor restrictive enough, which has proved to be a bane for Team Delhi.
The pace attack, except for Lungi Ngidi, has looked pedestrian, especially Indian bowlers like T Natarajan (ER of 11.18) and Mukesh Kumar (ER 10.67), who could once again get thrashed by Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel.
The match will start at 7.30 pm.
Also read: LSG defeat CSK by 3 wickets in crucial IPL fixture
Follow us
