Gujarat Titans' Kagiso Rabada has been in fine form at the IPL.
Image: IANS
Kagiso Rabada may have come off second best in his duel with India’s teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, but the Proteas paceman is not suddenly going to tear up the script that has seen him enjoy one of his best IPL seasons ever.
Sooryavanshi, 15, became the fastest player to smash 100 sixes in T20 cricket when his Rajasthan Royals faced Rabada’s Gujarat Titans. The teenager reached the mark by hitting Rabada for consecutive sixes in the second over of the clash.
Unfortunately for the Royals, Sooryavanshi could not take his innings deep and was dismissed in the next over by Rabada’s new-ball partner, Mohammed Siraj, for 36.
Rabada, though, showed his class by returning to claim the big wicket of Royals captain, Yashasvi Jaiswal, in the next over before also dismissing West Indies dynamo Shimron Hetmyer to finish with the creditable figures of 2/33.
It propelled Rabada to 18 wickets at 21.83, which was enough to see him take hold of the Purple Cap, awarded to the highest wicket-taker in the tournament, for the night, before Chennai Super Kings’ Anshul Kamboj overtook him on Sunday.
“Everyone is just determined; I am determined myself. Everyone is just given a role—try to perform to the best of your ability,” Rabada said.
When asked about his duel with Sooryavanshi and his game plan, he added: “What has worked for 11 years will continue to work. It's about hedging your bets and hoping it works. A lot of hard work is done behind the scenes. There are a lot of nuances, but apart from that, it is same-old, same-old.”
The IPL comes after a long international season in which Rabada was not at his optimum best during the preceding T20 World Cup in India for the Proteas.
But often with the 30-year-old, it comes down to rhythm and his physical conditioning, and Rabada believes everything is working in unison at the moment.
“Body feels good. This is where the fatigue starts to set in, so I am just trying to stay on top of it and be as fresh as possible. Hopefully, I can just continue what I have been doing.”
With teammate Lungi Ngidi also excelling at the IPL by utilising his slower deliveries, in contrast to Rabada, who is hitting hard lengths and keeping his speeds up in excess of 145km/h, the fast bowler claimed he will dig further into his arsenal when necessary.
“I have not bowled too many (slower balls) this season, but when they are needed, I will bowl them,” he added.
Rabada’s next clash will be against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who boast the competition’s leading run-scorers, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen, in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.