To say that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been a sensation would be an understatement. The 15-year-old not only blows away by dominating and belying his age, but he also operates at such a level that you can’t compare him with tested IPL stars. Modern-day cricket has never seen someone like him, who thrashes international bowlers while facing his first-ever delivery in the toughest competition in the world. All just at the age of 14. That he did last year. This time, he has mauled the two topmost bowlers of this generation – Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood.
Today, Sooryavanshi faces another intriguing challenge in the form of Mohammed Shami when the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) host the Rajasthan Royals (RR). The Ekana pitch has offered something for the bowlers and that is what makes the Sooryavanshi vs Shami battle interesting.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s stats in powerplay in IPL 2026
| Opponent | Runs (Balls) | Strike Rate | Key Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSK | 52 (16) | 325.00 | 15-ball fifty in a 128-run chase |
| GT | 31 (17) | 182.72 | Provided a quick start in a high-scoring game |
| MI | 20 (7) | 285.71 | Hit Bumrah for 2 sixes in 3.2-over powerplay |
| RCB | 57(18) | 316.66 | Hammered Hazlewood and killed 202-run chase in powerplay |
| SRH | 0 (1) | 0.00 | Dismissed for a golden duck by Praful Hinge |
| KKR | 38 (21) | 180.95 | One-man show for RR vs KKR |
- Total runs in powerplay: 198
- Balls played: 80
- Sooryavanshi’s strike rate in powerplay in IPL 2026: 247.5
Sooryavanshi has literally dominated everyone he has faced in this IPL 2026. He was leading the Orange Cap race for a while as well, but it doesn’t matter how much you score. In today’s T20 cricket, it is about the impact that you leave. The 15-year-old youngster is leaving his mark by finishing games within the powerplay.
Just when people thought that he would be caught up by the second-season blues, Sooryavanshi blew away a CSK bowling attack that just had new-ball bowlers. He opened the season with a 15-ball fifty before dominating the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada.
However, the world stoop up and applauded when Sooryavanshi took down Bumrah and Hazlewood. Yes, Bumrah wasn’t going through the best of forms but to tonk him for two sixes in four balls shows the level he operates at. In the very next match against RCB, he hammered Hazlewood for 18 runs in just four balls. Utter domination. It surely tells that Sooryavanshi doesn’t play the bowler, but the ball.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs best IPL bowlers
| Bowler | Runs | Outs | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 39 | 1 | 205.26 |
| Noor Ahmad | 38 | 0 | 316.67 |
| Matt Henry | 19 | 0 | 316.67 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 18 | 0 | 450.00 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 17 | 0 | 170.00 |
| Marco Jansen | 16 | 0 | 266.67 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 16 | 0 | 266.67 |
| Rashid Khan | 13 | 1 | 130.00 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 13 | 0 | 260.00 |
Can Shami shut Sooryavanshi soon?
Now, Sooryavanshi faces the bowler who has actually dominated the powerplay overs in his own right. Shami has already featured against one of the most fearsome opening duos of all time in Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. What did he do then? Make the batters talk. He dismissed both Head (7) and Abhishek (0) within seven balls.
Shami, after missing IPL 2024 had a horrendous last year with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). He leaked runs at 11.23 and was traded to LSG for INR 10 crore. In last year or so, he has showcased that there has been no rust in his bowling. He has represented Bengal across all three formats, and did superbly too. With a comeback still on his mind, Shami is spearheading the LSG bowling attack with aplomb, having taken five wickets at an econmy of 8.08 so far in IPL 2026.
While Shami’s usage of seam-up deliveries is something you can term ‘world-class’. When there is some movement on offer, Shami is almost unplayable in the powerplay. However, the 35-year-old has now started to use more variety early on. Against SRH, he bowled quite a few slower balls that scruffled the oppotion. On a slowish Ekana track, this can trouble a hard-hitter Sooryavanshi, who just loves pace.
Shami’s powerplay stats in IPL 2026
| Innings | Overs | Wickets | Econ | Avg | SR | BBI | Dot % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 14.0 | 4 | 6.79 | 23.8 | 21.0 | 2/7 | 59.5 |
