From Bumrah to Duffy: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's growing first-ball hitting habit.

We often expect a young batter to take a few deliveries to settle in. But Vaibhav Sooryavanshi often seems to have other plans.

On 27 October, during India's third T20 International against New Zealand in Wellington, the 15-year-old left-hander faced Jacob Duffy and immediately sent the first ball over mid-on for four. There was no tentative push into the gaps, no prolonged inspection of the conditions and no visible hesitation.

The left-handed teenager ended up scoring an incredible 45 off just 19 balls, adding 4 fours and 4 sixes. This helped India chase down 198/3 in just 13.2 overs, winning the match with 6 wickets to hand them a commanding 3-0 lead in the 5-game series.

But this is part of an increasing trend for Sooryavanshi to attack top quality bowlers.

What happened against Jacob Duffy?

Sooryavanshi started his innings by hitting a boundary over mid-on in the opening over against Jacob Duffy. This over contained a no-ball, 2 runs, 2 sixes, 1 run and 5 wides. India scored a mammoth 26 runs.

This partnership was extremely effective. Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma scored 133 runs off just 7.1 overs.

In the 6-over Powerplay India scored 118 runs, without losing any wickets. They set a new record for the highest Powerplay total of a full member country in men’s T20 Internationals.

By hitting his first ball for a boundary, Sooryavanshi shows that he is willing to attack right from the word go. As Duffy wasn’t bowled after an over of analysis, the batters intentions were clear.

Jasprit Bumrah: No waiting around

One of the most clear examples of this was during the Indian Premier League in April 2026.

Sooryavanshi hit Bumrah for a six off the first ball he faced. He attacked him again in the same over.

He scored a massive 39 off just 14 balls. He was then out to Shardul Thakur. Rajasthan Royals put on 150/3 in their rain-affected 11 overs to win by 27 runs.

This was impressive as Jasprit Bumrah is widely considered one of the best fast bowlers in the world. His variety, control and deception makes it difficult to attack.

Despite this, Sooryavanshi decided he was confident with his shot making.

Josh Hazlewood and the other elite names

This wasn’t an isolated incident. Sooryavanshi has been attacking the first ball of his innings throughout his IPL 2026 campaign.

He scored a boundary off the first ball from some of the most well-known international bowlers, including Australia’s Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, New Zealand’s Matt Henry and South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi.

Matt Henry – 30 th March 2026 (Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings)

Jasprit Bumrah – 7 th April 2026 (Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians)

Josh Hazlewood – 10 th April 2026 (Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bengaluru)

Pat Cummins – 25 th April 2026 (Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Mitchell Starc – 17 th May 2026 (Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Capitals)

Lungi Ngidi – 17 th May 2026 (Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Capitals)

Josh Hazlewood is known for his accuracy and ability to play to a batter’s weaknesses. Sooryavanshi still managed to hit a boundary off the first ball he faced from him. He then attacked him again.

These examples are important to show that Sooryavanshi attacks his first ball from a variety of bowlers with different styles. They are all well-known international bowlers and he seems happy to attack the first ball he can score off.

More than just a collection of sixes.

The first ball boundaries are incredible to watch. However, looking at the stats from his IPL 2026 campaign can help us understand why we have seen so much attention.

He scored an incredible 776 runs this season, hitting 72 sixes off 327 balls. He scored 521 runs off the first 6 overs of his innings. This is the most any batter has scored off the first 6 overs in a single IPL season. It beat David Warner’s previous record of 467 in 2016.

This shows that Sooryavanshi likes to score quickly. He doesn’t want to give the bowling team a chance to get into a rhythm. He will attack anything he can whether it be pace or spin.

Although he is attacking, he is not just swinging wildly. He knows what length he needs to score. During his match against Duffy in Wellington, he hit the length ball over mid-on. He then hit another ball over the covers for 4. He is able to play different shots depending on the delivery.

It should be noted that these are first ball boundaries off specific bowlers, not his first ball of the innings. However, he has still managed to hit some incredible moments.

Does reputation matter ?

Sooryavanshi has given a very straightforward reason for his style of play. As reported during the IPL season,

This helps us understand why we have seen so much discussion about his innings against experienced international bowlers. He doesn’t have to wait for the bowler to make mistakes. He will attack from the get go.

However, although he plays fearlessly he is not invincible. He has had some tough times, including getting out on his first ball to Praful Hinge from Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. Even though he is known for hitting boundaries from his first ball, he is still vulnerable if the bowler bowls well.

The opposition has to find a way to make him pause. Meanwhile Sooryavanshi has to ensure he keeps his attacking nature but improve his decision making, adaptability and consistency.

The bigger picture

Whilst hitting the boundary off Jacob Duffy was exciting to watch, it follows a pattern we have seen in his innings during the IPL.

However, the most interesting thing is how quickly Sooryavanshi can change the momentum. Bowlers may expect to test him with their first ball as he is a young batter, but he is likely to hit the boundary from the first ball.

Sooryavanshi is still a young cricketer and it would be unfair to expect him to become a superstar from every attacking innings. However, he is certainly challenging some of the oldest assumptions in cricket. One of the main assumptions is that a young batter should respect a famous bowler by pausing.

However, Sooryavanshi’s style of play shows that he should respect the ball. He will analyse the length and trust his shot making. Sometimes, he just needs one ball.