TimesofIndia.com at Milanpur: For the cricketing world, what unfolded in Milanpur during the IPL 2026 eliminator Rajasthan Royals And Sunrisers Hyderabad felt the magic. A 15-year-old boy took down a Pat Cummins-led attack without blinking twice.But 1,300 km away in Tajpur, a small village 12 km from Bihar’s Samastipur district, no one was surprised. And Ravi Prakash Jha, who has been bowling to Vaibhav Suryavanshi since the age of five, was one of the many.Villagers crowded inside Suryavanshi’s house, watching the prodigy do what they’ve seen him do for years: bowl bowlers twice his age.When Suryavanshi fell short of a century, there was barely a moment of disappointment before the room collectively shrugged it off and said: “Never mind, come next match” (that’s right, he’ll get it next).once Suryavanshi’s whirlwind innings came to an end after 97 off 29 ballsThere was hardly a single person in the stadium who was not stunned. He hit eight sixes while facing the first 16 balls. Hitting a six on every two balls is unimaginable even in book cricket.“He has been playing book cricket since the age of 8 (he has been playing this book cricket since he was eight),” Jha laughed.
Rajasthan Royals’ Vibhu Suryavanshi walks away after scoring 97 off 29 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 Eliminator. (PTI)
Jha, now 22, has been bowling to Surya Vanshi since the prodigy was five and he was 12. He shared some stories from the early days of long hours spent under the sun.“Few people know that he was selected in the Bihar under-19 team when he was eight. He was not selected because of his age.“In one of the under-12 matches at the Moinul Haq Stadium in Patna, he scored 153 runs. Of the 15 sixes he hit, seven balls could not be traced because they had come off the ground,” he says.Jha continues: “Three weeks before the 12-year-old was selected as a prospect for Bihar’s Ranji Trophy in 2022, there were allegations about his age. The BCCI called him to Bangalore, where he had to undergo a bone test. (VVS) Lakshmana Sahib wanted to put an end to these speculations forever. He’s only 15, and at such a young age, he’s already been through things that even a 30-year-old hasn’t been through.
All is a game of mood, and Vaibhav has a hand of forgetfulness.
Ravi Prakash Jha
“All is a game of temperament, and Vaibhu has the hand of Bhole (cricket is a game of temperament, and has the blessings of Lord Shiva),” he says.On his YouTube channel, R Ashwin talked in detail about how Suryavanshi worked on his game during the tournament itself. Be it Mohsin Khan, Parful Hinge or Mohammad Siraj, they all troubled him with fast short balls hitting the body. Mohsin also made a madden over on him. Heng bowled him out for a golden duck, while Siraj repeatedly hit it to the same length.What stands out, however, is how quickly Suryavanshi made minute adjustments. Within weeks, he worked on his game and started playing uppercuts against bouncers with confidence. Pat Cummins’ second six in his second over was a perfect example.
Vibhu Suryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. (AP)
“If you remember his uppercut over third man for six, earlier in the season he was trying to play the same ball straight and get top edges. Within a season, he made such changes at just 15 years of age. He is not an ordinary player,” Ashwin said.Parful Hinge dismissed Suryavanshi twice in three matches. But in the reverse fixture between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals, Suryavanshi hit four consecutive sixes over the henge. In the eliminator, he had already scored 28 runs with three sixes and two fours in the over before falling at the hinge.“If someone gets out once, then we don’t care for the bowler. We got him out twice in one day. After that, we hit him so hard that we lost our heads. One pull shot blew the net.” He played the pull shot with such power that it tore up the practice net),” Jha recalled.
Vibhu Suryavanshi and Mohammad Siraj (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
On Friday, the fight between Siraj and Suryavanshi will once again be one of the most exciting encounters to watch. In their previous meeting, the youngster hit Siraj for three brilliant boundaries before finally getting out.Now they are face to face once again. Siraj will come armed with peace, enmity and plans. Suryavanshi will go with fearless intent and a bat that doesn’t seem to be able to stay still for long at the moment. And somewhere in Tajpur they will watch calmly because it is not a new thing for them.
