To defeat the Rajasthan Royals (RR), dismiss Vaibhav Sooryavanshi first. According to Aakash Chopra, this is the only way by which the Gujarat Titans could defeat the Royals in the playoffs.
The stunning form of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been one of the primary talking points around the cricket fraternity. The 15-year-old batter, who is on the verge of breaking Chris Gayle’s six-hitting record in a single season, is projected as the biggest threat for the Gujarat Titans.
Aakash Chopra prescribes the simplest way to defeat the Rajasthan Royals
In a YouTube video, Aakash Chopra explains how the Shubman Gill-led team can defeat the Riyan Parag-led team. The former Team India batter advises Gujarat to prepare their bowling plans around the teenage opener.
For example, Chopra took the Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals match, where Vaibhav played a flamboyant 97-run knock. Hyderabad, which had bowlers like Pat Cummins and Ishan Malinga, was unable to dismiss the batter in the initial stage of the match. Once he settled on the track, it was pure carnage. The same can happen against Gujarat as well, so Chopra advises them to revolve the bowling around the young opener.
“We had not envisaged that a 15-year-old kid could dictate everything, that all your bowling plans could revolve around a kid. It's not like people have not come up with plans. Hyderabad had also come up with a plan. They tried bowling yorkers at the start, but once you missed that mark and he hit two or three sixes, whether it was Pat Cummins or Eshan Malinga, they went off their plan massively," Chopra said in his YouTube channel.
Chopra compares Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Taking a step further, the former opener claimed that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is now the bigger threat than the legendary batters like Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. Chopra, now a cricket expert and commentator, claims that if the batter is somehow able to face 40 balls, then there will be nothing left for the Titans to survive in the must-win contest.
“It's imperative for Gujarat to stop Vaibhav. How rarely do we say that it's imperative? We haven't said that even for Abhishek, Ishan, Rohit, or Virat, that if he fires, you won't survive at all. We are saying that with him, that if he plays 40 balls, it's over. He will score his hundred by the 11th over, and then the team will be close to 150. This kid is a different storm. It's very difficult to understand this storm," he added.
Toss could be a factor in the GT vs RR match
He also observes that the strike rate of the opening pair of Rajasthan is around 2-6. But Vaibhav’s strike rate is over that. Chopra feels that the toss can make an impact on their performance.
“The partnership's strike rate is 206, but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi runs faster than that. Which philosophy would work more? There are more chances of RR's philosophy working while batting first because then there are no variables. There will be no scoreboard pressure. You can start a little fearlessly while batting first. You can actually control and destroy the Powerplay if you bat first," Chopra mentioned.
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