Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was visibly emotional at the end of Rajasthan Royals’ narrow loss to Kolkata Knight Riders, sitting on the ground in tears after a hard-fought contest slipped away from his side.
Consoled by the opposition
Royals had defended a modest total of 156 with real spirit but ended up just short. A member of KKR’s support staff walked over to comfort the distraught Bihar left-hander. It was not the first time the youngster has shown his feelings in public; he has previously looked upset with himself after getting out.
A fluent knock on a tricky surface
Sooryavanshi was one of the Royals’ best players on the day. Stroke-making was far from easy on this pitch, yet he adjusted well and made 46 off 28 balls, with six fours and two sixes. He also set the tone early by hitting Sunil Narine for a six off only his second delivery.
His consistency has been a bright spot for RR this season. He now has 246 runs from six innings, an average of 41 and a strike rate of 236.54, which puts him fifth among the leading run-scorers.
How the match unfolded
Rajasthan were held to 155 for 9. Varun Chakaravarthy and Kartik Tyagi took three wickets each, and Narine added two more. KKR then slumped to 85 for 6 in reply, before Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy put together a vital partnership that took the team home with two balls to spare.
