Mumbai: Speaking exclusively on Kuhl Fans Match Centre Live on JioHotstar, JioStar expert Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Rajasthan Royals for backing 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi and hailed the youngster’s composed debut knock:
“Just imagine—parents in their late 30s or early 40s watching this. It was unbelievable. His first two sixes came off good deliveries, and then he showed great maturity against the spinners. He impressed everyone. When he got out, it looked like he might cry—and at his age, that would’ve been completely natural. Full credit to Rajasthan Royals for trusting him, giving him the best possible platform at the top of the order, even with another left-hander alongside. They’ve truly unveiled a new wonder boy.”
JioStar expert Ajay Jadeja reflected on Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s composed knock, praising his maturity, mindset, and hunger to improve:
“In those 20 balls, Vaibhav showed everything—fearlessness on the first ball, then maturity in how he paced his innings once Jaiswal took over. At 14, just being out there is huge, and to get 30-odd is remarkable. He was visibly upset after getting out, which shows how invested he was. That moment where he was beaten could be down to fitness, and I’m sure he’ll work on it. What stood out was how quickly he bounced back—almost in tears when he got out, but back with the team an hour later. That ability to process emotions and move on will take him far.”
Sanjay Manjrekar praised Avesh Khan’s pinpoint yorkers in the death overs, crediting him for Lucknow Super Giants’ comeback: “Avesh Khan single-handedly won them the game. He bowled the 18th over for just five runs and then nailed the final over. It was smart captaincy too—Pant trusted current form over reputation. Avesh backed the yorker, the one delivery we old-timers always talk about. No fancy variations—just relentless yorkers. That’s what brought them back into a game they had almost lost.”
Ajay Jadeja analysed Rajasthan Royals’ narrow defeat against Lucknow Super Giants:
“Things have just slipped away for Rajasthan Royals. It’s not that they’ve played badly—they’ve been in the game. They needed just 9 runs in the final over. In the TATA IPL, you expect teams to finish from there, regardless of conditions or who’s bowling. They need to believe in themselves a bit more and look to close games earlier. Even today, they started well—picked up big wickets like Pooran, Marsh, and Pant. But they haven’t finished well with the bat or ball. Those four sixes off Sandeep Sharma in the first innings made a big difference. They had the game in the bag but let it slip.”
