Kyle Jamieson gave an aggressive send-off to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi but the Rajasthan Royals coach saw it more as an act of “appreciation”.
For the first time in a while, the Rajasthan Royals lost both of their opening batters early. First, it was Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was dismissed by the returning Mitchell Starc, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was bowled by an excellent delivery from Kyle Jamieson. However, the Kiwi pacer surprisingly went on to give a send-off to Sooryavanshi, a 15-year-old, leaving many fans on social media furious. Rajasthan Royals coach Vikram Rathour, however, feels the send-off was merely a compliment for Sooryavanshi. Rathour, who attended the post-match press conference, did not mind Jamieson’s extravagant celebration.
In fact, Rathour said that the DC pacer was understandably excited to get Sooryavanshi, one of the top-scoring batters this season, out early. Giving a rather unexpected reply, the coach said that the reaction should be seen as appreciation for the teenager and not aggression.
“Getting out can be anyone’s turning point, but not everyone can make runs every time, and we shouldn’t have any expectations from Vaibhav that he will score every time. He is playing well. Wherever he is getting a chance and a start, he is converting those starts.
“A good ball fell in the beginning, so he can also get out. He had a bit of a cramp, I think, but he is fine. So, obviously, he [Jamieson] was excited, and that is a compliment for Vaibhav that people are finding that he is so happy after getting him out. So, that is a compliment for Vaibhav. The strategy will remain the same,” Rathour said in the post-match press conference on Friday.
Rathour Fumes at Misfiring Bowling Unit ‘Again’
RR had put a decent total of 225 runs on the board, thanks to superlative performances from skipper Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Donovan Ferreira. Yet, the team failed to defend the score, losing the game with five balls to spare. For Rathour, there was no other reason behind the defeat than the fact that his bowling unit misfired ‘again’.
“The reason behind it is that I think the bowling couldn’t execute their plans again today. I thought 226 was enough on the surface; we should have been able to defend that. I think with the bowling, once you’re defending a total like that, it’s important to have a good powerplay. Again, today, I thought we gave away lots of runs and didn’t pick up any wickets, so that sets you back, and then later, we really couldn’t execute our plans. We need to learn from that as a bowling unit, and we need to work hard on that as we have more matches to play here,” he said.
When asked about the positives from the game, the former Team India batting coach said that the middle order’s performance was a big positive, as the team’s big scores had mostly been based on Sooryavanshi and Jaiswal’s performances until now.
“The positive was that we were getting good starts and both openers were doing well for us in every match. So, today was the first time that both of them got out early. As a team, I think it was important to see how we come out of that situation and how we play. The way Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel batted at that time, the way they partnered, and the way Donovan finished it was really good to see,” he said.
“I think this kind of innings gives a lot of confidence to the team that we are not dependent on one or two players. So, the day it’s our turn, or whoever is playing well, they can win the game for us and put up a good score. So, it was really positive,” he added.
