Indian teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi failed to enjoy the dream debut he had hoped for but earned praise from England’s winner. Jacob Bethell after the second T20I in Manchester on Saturday.15-year-old Sooryavanshi became India’s youngest T20I debutant when he was picked for the second match against England. Although he managed just 14 runs, the left-hander showed his talent with two sixes before being stumped.After England’s four-wicket win, Bethell said he has been following Sooryavanshi’s progress and believes the youngster has a bright future.“Yes. It seems strange to say that I am playing against someone seven years younger than me, but, yes, you know, I saw him bat in India. I looked at it, you know, today, the swing and everything is clean. So, yeah, he’s an incredible talent,” Bethell said.
Youngest debutant in India T20I
At 15 years, 3 months and 7 days, Sooryavanshi broke Shafali Verma’s record to become India’s youngest international debutant.The youngster from Bihar earned his call-up to India after a sensational IPL season with Rajasthan Royals, where he scored 776 runs in 16 matches, including one century and five fifties. He also broke Chris Gayle’s record for most sixes in a single IPL season.His international debut, however, ended quietly as he scored 14 before being stumped. He later took his first international catch on the boundary during England’s chase.
Bethell leads the chase for England
While Sooryavanshi’s debut grabbed a lot of attention, it was Bethell who stole the show with an unbeaten 76 that guided England to a four-wicket win as they chased down 191. The hosts reached the target with an over to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.Bethell said performing against one of the strongest bowling attacks in the world made the innings even more satisfying.“I really enjoyed that semi-final (2026 T20 World Cup), even though we couldn’t get over the line. I’m a high-class striker, it’s just that I played it on two good pitches. And, yes, you want to do well against the best teams in the world. So, yeah, it’s really nice to do that,” he said.England were struggling at 1/2 before Harry Brook’s aggressive 39 off 15 balls turned the tide. Bethell then built important partnerships, particularly with Tom Banton, to keep the chase on track.“It worked out well at the end, but just going into at-bat two, Brooky set the tone really well there. He blew the momentum right back at them … everyone just kept hitting it. In this kind of chase, you don’t go fast all the time, but a couple of big overs and then the game changes,” Bethell said.
The cost of Bishnoi changes the game
The decisive moment came in the 17th over, when Ravi Bishnoi conceded 29 runs, including two no-balls which gave England two free-hits.Bethell admits England changed their approach after the freebies.“If I’m honest, I probably would have aimed more at the other end… But when there are a couple of free shots and then the bowler is down, you try to take it. So, yeah, everything went really well,” he said.Bethell also said that England’s batsmen have adapted well to different boundary sizes instead of focusing only on the shorter side.“A side might find it easier to hit sixes, but you can still score the same amount of runs by hitting in bigger spaces. It was just about being smart with it. I think as a batting group, we were really good at that,” he added.Despite the defeat, Sooryavanshi’s debut was one of the biggest talking points of the match, with Bethell’s glowing praise highlighting the excitement surrounding India’s newest teenage sensation.
