Colombo: India A youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s wait for his first six on Sri Lankan soil continued despite another brisk outing in the ongoing one day triangular series. Known for his aggressive batting and clean six hitting, the left handed batter has now faced 34 balls across the first two matches without clearing the boundary even once.
Sooryavanshi is part of the India A squad playing the triangular series in Sri Lanka, which also features Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A. The young batter has made an impact with boundaries, but the trademark sixes that have defined his early List A career have not yet arrived in this tournament.
Against Afghanistan A, Sooryavanshi scored a quick 44 off just 22 balls at a strike rate of 200. His innings included nine fours, but he missed out on what could have been the second half century of his List A career. The match was his 10th List A appearance.
Earlier, in the opening match of the series against Sri Lanka A on June 9, he made 14 runs off 12 deliveries with three boundaries. With these two innings, Sooryavanshi has scored 58 runs from 34 balls in the tournament so far, hitting 12 fours but no six.
The wait is notable because Sooryavanshi has built a reputation as a batter who frequently takes the aerial route. In his short List A career so far, he has scored 411 runs from 10 matches, including one century and one half century. He has also struck 49 fours and 23 sixes in the format.
His inability to hit a six in Sri Lanka does not take away from his attacking approach, as his boundary count and strike rate show that he has continued to score quickly. However, given his natural style of play, the absence of a six has become an interesting talking point around his performance in the series.
For India A, Sooryavanshi’s form remains encouraging, especially with his ability to score at a rapid pace at the top. The next few matches will now be watched closely to see when the young batter finally ends his wait for a first six on Sri Lankan soil.