In the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) played in Mallapur on Friday, the Gujarat coaching staff devised a strategy of body-line bowling to stop the batting menace of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. But Nehra’s strategy failed to work as the little maestro scored 96 runs in 47 balls with 8 fours and 7 sixes. However, when a Rabada bouncer hit Vaibhav’s helmet, millions of fans became concerned for him. Siraj also bowled sharp and straight-line bouncers to Sooryavanshi from the outset. But Vaibhav handled them well, and the left-handed batsman was not affected much, neither initially nor after the ball hit his helmet.
Rabada and Siraj attacked from the start
To stop Vaibhav, both Gujarat pacers Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada, instead of using seam and swing, used pace and a direct line bowling to target him. Both initially used short-pitched deliveries and bouncers. On one occasion, the ball, after bouncing, not only passed over Vaibhav, but also over GT wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, resulting in a four-run bye. This ball itself was proof of the mindset in which Rabada and Siraj entered the field. Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan referred to body-targeting as body-line bowling.
Former India star Irfan Pathan was worried at the way Sooryavanshi was subjected to bodyline bowling. “Bodyline bowling to stop 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi doesn’t fit well with me. I know he is playing against the big boys but the father in me doesn’t agree with that,” Pathan wrote in a post on X. Now that the IPL allows two bouncers per over, unlike in international cricket, the bowler’s goal is to use both bouncers to create some nervousness and put the batsman on the defensive.
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