The IPL feast is reaching the playoff stage and, indeed, it has been exciting all the way as the ten teams did their bit to earn a slot in this final phase. Sixes and fours have come in plenty, as expected, and there have been any number of heroes on a given day to raise the tempo of the contest and keep the audience on their toes, so to say. Yet there have been a few performances that have left a lasting impression and earned a place in any discussion on the IPL at any time. Definitely, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been a huge draw. For one, he is still very young — just over 15 — but his deeds have been extraordinary enough to take one’s breath away.

It has been some time since the sport saw someone like Sooryavanshi, who made fans rush to the stadiums just to watch him hammer and belittle bowlers with his carefree approach to batting. Perhaps it was Sachin Tendulkar who had similarly gained attention with his batting prowess. But Tendulkar belonged to a different league, one steeped in technique and a copybook style approach. Tendulkar’s greatness lay in his correctness at the crease, assured stroke play and, above all, the immense determination he consistently displayed. Runs flowed from his bat at a time when a player’s class was measured by the conviction and........

© Mathrubhumi English