Matthew Hayden breaks silence on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after RR defeat to GT

Gujarat Titans batting coach Matthew Hayden made a strong statement about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after GT’s dominant 77-run win over Rajasthan Royals in their IPL 2026 match in Jaipur on Saturday.

Shubman Gill and Rashid Khan shine in dominant Gujarat Titans victory

Batting first, Gujarat Titans put up a huge total of 229/4 in 20 overs, with captain Shubman Gill leading from the front with a brilliant 84 off 44 balls. Rajasthan Royals failed to chase the target and were bowled out for 152, as Rashid Khan starred with four wickets.

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During the run chase, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again impressed with his fearless batting. The young batter smashed 36 runs off just 16 balls before being dismissed by Mohammed Siraj.

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Matthew Hayden advises Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to bat deeper in big chases

While speaking after the match, Matthew Hayden appreciated Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for his fearless style of batting. However, he also mentioned that in a big chase close to 230 runs, a batter should try to stay longer at the crease and guide the innings instead of only playing attacking shots from the start.

“Well, tonight was a good example, right, of an exciting young talent in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He batted, got 30 runs at a strike rate of 300. But when you’re chasing 220 odd, you need to bat longer and deeper. So the advantage that we have is that we get players, like the top three that you mentioned, who are striking at 150,” Hayden said in the post-match press conference.

Matthew Hayden hails Gujarat Titans batting strength and fitness

“Let me tell you as a batter, that is really hard, and they’re doing it for a long period of time, they’re constantly getting into the back half of the game, not just batting inside the powerplay. They’re going right through with their fitness and their ability to be able to really play Test match-type cricket, and ODI cricket in particular,” he added.

“It is a very good team. It is a dangerous bowling side, and that is what we have seen tonight. It can be a very destructive bowling side. We have just got so many apex predators at the top of the batting order, that one, two, three is such a solid unit,” Hayden said.

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