Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Gets "Need To Bat Longer" Advice As RR Suffer Huge Loss vs GT
Gujarat Titans batting coach Matthew Hayden made a pointed remark about Rajasthan Royals' teenage batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
- Gujarat Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals by 77 runs in IPL 2026 at Jaipur
- GT batting coach Matthew Hayden had a special advice for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who scored 36 off 16 balls
- "He got 30 runs at a strike rate of 300. But when you're chasing 220 odd, you need to bat longer," Hayden said
Gujarat Titans batting coach Matthew Hayden made a pointed remark about Rajasthan Royals' teenage batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi following GT's emphatic 77-run victory over RR in their IPL 2026 clash on Saturday in Jaipur. Batting first, Gujarat Titans posted a massive 229/4 in 20 overs, led by skipper Shubman Gill's 84 off 44 balls. In reply, Rajasthan Royals were bundled out for 152, with Rashid Khan claiming four wickets. During the chase, the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi played a quick cameo, scoring 36 off 16 balls before being dismissed by Mohammed Siraj.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Hayden praised Sooryavanshi's attacking intent but stressed that while chasing a daunting target of around 230, a batter needs to focus on taking the game deeper rather than only scoring at a brisk pace.
"Well, tonight was a good example, right, of an exciting young talent in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He batted, got 30 runs at a strike rate of 300. But when you're chasing 220 odd, you need to bat longer and deeper. So the advantage that we have is that we get players, like the top three that you mentioned, who are striking at 150," Hayden said in the post-match press conference.
"Let me tell you as a batter, that is really hard, and they're doing it for a long period of time, they're constantly getting into the back half of the game, not just batting inside the powerplay. They're going right through with their fitness and their ability to be able to really play Test match-type cricket, and ODI cricket in particular," he added.
The Titans have won four matches on the trot, including a 77-run victory over Rajasthan Royals, to move into second spot as the race for playoff intensifies.
"It is a very good team. It is a dangerous bowling side, and that is what we have seen tonight. It can be a very destructive bowling side. We have just got so many apex predators at the top of the batting order, that one, two, three is such a solid unit," Hayden said.
(With PTI inputs)
Gujarat Titans
Rajasthan Royals