Moving back to his natural opening slot in the third T20I against New Zealand after experimenting at No. 3 in the previous match where he could only muster four runs off eight balls, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made an immediate impact with a blistering 19-ball 45 powered by four sixes and four fours at an extraordinary strike rate of 236.84, which inspired former India batter Sadagopan Ramesh—who represented the country in 19 Tests and 24 ODIs—to observe that giving Sooryavanshi the opener’s slot was equivalent to the team management handing the young prodigy a delightful “chocolate,” alongside praising the ferocious form of Abhishek Sharma by declaring that Abhishek is batting like someone whom bowlers fear just by hearing his name and that he batted like a demon today to shatter nearly every record for the fastest opening partnerships by blasting 133 runs in seven overs at an astonishing run rate of 19, metaphorically adding that although Diwali is still to arrive, the Indian batters, particularly Abhishek, spent the match bursting Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 crackers with their bats. India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer shared similar awe, describing the batting display of Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as absolutely stunning after their fiery start secured a six-wicket win over New Zealand on Tuesday, which successfully sealed an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, mentioning during the post-match presentation that it was absolutely stunning and a visual treat to watch them play, while humorously pointing out that when he and Sanju Samson went out to bat and encountered a seaming ball, he was left wondering how the openers made it look so simple, concluding that the entire knock was simply mind-boggling as Sharma blazed away to 113 off just 38 balls with 11 sixes and nine fours while Sooryavanshi chipped in with 45 off 19 deliveries, comfortably chasing down New Zealand’s target of 199 in 13.2 overs with a massive 40 balls remaining.
How Gautam Gambhir’s Clever ‘Chocolate’ Ploy Empowered Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to Punish New Zealand
