Dehi Capitals beat Rajasthan Royals convincingly. However, the match came into the limelight because RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi couldn’t score much, and Kyle Jamieson bowled him with a stunning delivery. While this was indeed a talking point of the game, what stole the show was that the Kiwi pacer surprisingly gave a send-off to Sooryavanshi, a 15-year-old, and that left many surprised. However,  Rajasthan Royals coach Vikram Rathour feels the send-off was a compliment for Sooryavanshi as well.

“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,” Vikram Rathour said in the post-match press conference on Friday.

However, RR had posted a decent total of 225 runs, thanks to skipper Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Donovan Ferreira. Yet, they failed to defend the score, losing the match with five balls to spare.

“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 again said.

When he was asked about the positives from the match, he also said that the middle order’s performance was a big positive, as the team’s big scores had mostly come from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal 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.

“Again, we need to work hard on how to defend the score. We got 226 runs, which is a lot in my opinion. We will try to play good cricket. If we do our best, and if we play to our potential as a team, we should be able to beat any team on any day on any surface. We will try to play our best cricket. Results will follow, I am sure. We played well this year and got a good start. We won good matches,” Vikram Rathour concluded.