Kagiso Rabada believes Rajasthan Royals teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s remarkable IPL 2026 campaign has been built on fearless cricket, quick reflexes and an ability to read bowlers earlier than most players his age.The Gujarat Titans pacer showered praise on the 15-year-old after Qualifier 2 on Friday, where Sooryavanshi’s stunning 96 went in vain as GT chased down 215 to secure a seven-wicket win and book their place in the IPL 2026 final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.Sooryavanshi once again lit up the contest with a 47-ball 96, following his blistering 97 in the Eliminator. The teenager signed off from the season with 776 runs, ending his campaign at the top of the run-scoring charts for now, although Shubman Gill still has an opportunity to surpass him in Sunday’s final. Sooryavanshi also narrowly missed out on a second successive century after being dismissed by Rabada.Speaking after the match, Rabada admitted Sooryavanshi continues to surprise everyone with his maturity and attacking approach.“He just keeps amazing everyone who watches the game. He’s got such fast hands, and he picks length quickly. He’s got so much energy.”The South African said the youngster’s fearless mindset has been one of the biggest reasons behind his success this season.“When you’re young, you have so much energy and no fear, and that’s exactly what he’s shown, no fear and just a natural instinct for the game that allows him to perform the way he is performing.”Rabada felt Sooryavanshi’s performances have already moved beyond discussions about age.“At this stage, you throw age out of the window; it doesn’t matter how old he is. It’s amazing what he’s doing.”Earlier, Gujarat’s pace attack had put Rajasthan under pressure with Mohammed Siraj and Rabada striking early. However, Sooryavanshi fought back once again, sharing a valuable partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 45, as Rajasthan posted 214/6.Rabada, who finished with figures of 2/35 from his four overs, admitted Gujarat were not at their best with the ball despite restricting Rajasthan below what they believed was a par score.“The plan was to back our strengths, as we normally do, and hopefully get early wickets. We did get two early wickets, but then they fought back, and we missed our mark by bowling a few too many short balls, where we probably wanted to challenge them a bit more upfront.”The fast bowler said GT never felt out of the contest despite Sooryavanshi’s counterattack.“They got away from us a little, but we knew we weren’t completely out of it because we knew we could still get wickets. We had the game under control until the 19th over.”Rabada also acknowledged the challenge faced by Rashid Khan on a batting-friendly surface and felt Gujarat could have restricted Rajasthan to a lower total.“It was pretty tough for Rashid (Khan) to come on and bowl on this wicket as a spinner against some genuine power hitters. We probably felt that 180-190 was what we should have restricted them to, barring the dropped catch (of Sooryavanshi).”GT eventually made light work of the chase through a magnificent century from captain Shubman Gill and a 167-run opening stand with Sai Sudharsan, reaching the target with eight balls to spare.Rabada also praised his bowling partnership with Siraj, saying the Indian pacer’s intensity and ability to build pressure have been crucial for Gujarat throughout the season.“Siraj’s my partner this season. We’ve just been trying to operate as a partnership. If he’s putting pressure on from the other end, then hopefully I can do the same, and that’s how we get wickets.”“Everyone knows him. He’s got a lot of heart, and he’s got a lot of skill too. It’s lovely to be bowling with him (as) it just increases your chances of getting a wicket because someone at the other end is applying just as much pressure, if not more.”
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