Former Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane has given credit to the team management for promoting Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as opener in the third T20I against New Zealand. Sooryavanshi scored a blistering knock of 45 runs off just 19 balls as he batted at the top of his game. He added 118 runs in the Powerplay overs with Abhishek Sharma, which is now the most by a full-member ICC team.
Sooryavanshi and Abhishek added 133 runs off just 43 balls as the New Zealand bowlers were taken to the cleaners. The youngster had managed only four runs in the second T20I while batting at one down.
Rahane said on his YouTube Channel, “Sanju was sent in at No. 3, while Vaibhav was promoted to open the innings, which I think was a sensible call by the team management. He is 15 years old and had never batted at No. 3 before the second T20I. He is in good form and is the kind of player who likes to go out early, attack and dominate. He will learn gradually, and that is something he may need to learn as well. Whether he gets to bat at that position every time is a different matter because when Ishan Kishan returns, we might see Sanju Samson opening the innings again.”
The former Indian batter praised Sooryavanshi for showing intent against New Zealand bowlers from the get-go. Sooryavanshi smashed a four-ball boundary against Jacob Duffy to get the team going in the run chase of 199.
He concluded, “So, it was a good opportunity for Vaibhav, and he did really well. But I am sure that, considering the calibre he has shown, the management made the right call by promoting him up the order. At least the management gave Sooryavanshi a chance to bat at his preferred position. It was really good to watch him bat, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The best thing was the intent he showed on the very first ball, hitting it over mid-on. It demonstrated how confident he is and how much he trusts his own ability. That is a very big thing.”
The fourth T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Eden Park, Auckland, on Friday.
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