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By:

Waleed Hussain

4 March 2025 at 2:34:30 pm

The Taming of the Teen Tornado

In the high-octane circus of the Indian Premier League, few phenomena have exploded onto the scene quite like Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The Bihar prodigy, still a teenager at 15, burst into global consciousness in IPL 2025 as the youngest debutant and centurion in T20 history. His 101 off 38 balls against Gujarat Titans wasn’t just a knock; it was a declaration of intent from a player who treats boundaries as birthrights and bowlers as mere target practice. With a career strike rate hovering...

The Taming of the Teen Tornado

In the high-octane circus of the Indian Premier League, few phenomena have exploded onto the scene quite like Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The Bihar prodigy, still a teenager at 15, burst into global consciousness in IPL 2025 as the youngest debutant and centurion in T20 history. His 101 off 38 balls against Gujarat Titans wasn’t just a knock; it was a declaration of intent from a player who treats boundaries as birthrights and bowlers as mere target practice. With a career strike rate hovering around 225 across 17 matches and a penchant for clearing ropes with frightening regularity—61 sixes already—Suryavanshi represented the ultimate nightmare for opposition captains. Yet, as IPL 2026 unfolds, a fascinating trend has emerged: teams appear to have devised blueprints to neutralize him before he enters that devastating “out of control” mode. This isn’t about diminishing his talent. Suryavanshi remains a generational prospect, capable of single-handedly tilting games. But cricket at the elite level is a game of adaptations, and the league’s collective brain trust has spent the off-season and early 2026 matches poring over footage, identifying triggers, and deploying targeted strategies. The result? More frequent low scores, golden ducks, and frustrated walks back to the pavilion, even as his overall numbers stay imposing. The primary weapon has been early aggression against his powerplay instincts. Suryavanshi is an opener who thrives on momentum, often launching into sixes from ball one. Captains have responded by setting aggressive fields and using pace variations immediately. Deepak Chahar’s masterclass in 2025, where he dismissed the youngster for a duck with a clever plan, highlighted the value of swing and seam movement early on. By denying width and tempting him with balls that move away or hold the line, bowlers force Suryavanshi to manufacture shots, disrupting his timing. In one notable 2026 outing against Lucknow Super Giants, he managed just 8 off 11, mistiming a length ball outside off after the top order collapsed. Mohsin Khan’s dismissal of him—inducing a toe-ender to cover—showcased how disciplined lines can exploit slight technical lapses when the youngster tries to force the pace. Spin has emerged as another potent tool. While Suryavanshi’s hand-eye coordination makes him dangerous against slower balls, teams are using mystery spinners and left-arm orthodox options to vary trajectories and exploit any impatience. His dot-ball percentage, though low, reveals moments where he hunts boundaries excessively. Bowlers who can land the ball in the “corridor of uncertainty” or use the carrom ball effectively have succeeded in building pressure, forcing errors. Praful Hinge’s golden duck dismissal in 2026 offered a “secret recipe” that others are emulating: tight channels combined with clever changes in pace. Data analytics and opposition scouting have played a silent but decisive role. Teams now track Suryavanshi’s triggers—his front-foot dominance against pace, preference for leg-side heaves when set, and occasional vulnerability to short balls if the seam position is right. By preparing specific match-ups (right-arm seamers angling across him, or spinners from over the wicket targeting leg stump), captains are minimizing the window for him to settle. This proactive approach contrasts with the reactive panic of 2025, when many teams simply fed him width and watched the ball sail into the stands. Critics might argue this “taming” reflects negatively on the bowler-friendly conditions or defensive captaincy. But that’s missing the point. IPL cricket evolves rapidly, and Suryavanshi’s emergence has accelerated that evolution. Young talents force the ecosystem to innovate. Remember how early Virat Kohli or AB de Villiers prompted fielding restrictions and bowling tweaks? Suryavanshi is in that league. His explosive starts demand perfection from the outset; one loose over, and the game can slip away. Teams that execute plans—short spells of high-intensity bowling, smart rotations, and mental warfare—have found success in curtailing him to 20-30 ball cameos rather than match-defining marathons. This cat-and-mouse dynamic benefits Indian cricket immensely. For Suryavanshi, these challenges are crucibles for growth. Already battle-hardened from U19 successes and Ranji exposure at an absurdly young age, he is learning to rotate strike, play percentage cricket when needed, and temper his aggression without losing intent. His emotional reactions to dismissals—tears on debut, visible frustration—reveal a fierce competitor who hates failure. That fire, channeled correctly, will make him unstoppable. Coaches like Rahul Dravid at Rajasthan Royals are undoubtedly working on mindset and technique to counter these plans. For franchises, the lesson is clear: superstar management requires homework. Blindly respecting reputations leads to carnage; targeted execution yields results. We’ve seen this with other phenoms—teams eventually found ways to quiet even the most destructive hitters through variations, intelligence, and execution. Suryavanshi’s case proves no one is immune, no matter how prodigious. Yet, one senses this is temporary. The teenager’s talent is raw and boundless. As he decodes these strategies, his game will expand—perhaps better leaving balls in the channel, improved footwork against spin, or devastating counters to short-pitched stuff. By IPL 2027 or beyond, he might laugh at these early “solutions.” In the end, the IPL’s beauty lies in this relentless arms race. Teams have indeed figured out ways to dismiss Vaibhav Suryavanshi before he runs amok—for now. It forces excellence from everyone: bowlers must be precise, captains astute, and the batter must evolve. Cricket wins. Fans win. And a 15-year-old superstar, tempered by these battles, will emerge even more formidable. The tornado hasn’t been stopped; it’s merely being studied so the next gust can be even more thrilling. (The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai. Views personal.)

Fate of anti-rape bills in limbo

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Fate of anti-rape bills in limbo

The pitch is growing louder for stricter laws against rape as politicians and activists are demanding quick and effective justice even as three anti-rape bills await the President of India’s nod. On September 2, while West Bengal passed the Aparajita Bill, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) working president Supriya Sule staged a protest against the President’s delay in approving the Shakti Bill passed by the Maharashtra legislature in 2020.

It may seem ironical that at a time when cases of heinous sexual crimes against women are flooding the news every day, three anti-rape bills that seek strict punishment for the culprits are still awaiting approval from the President. The bills that need the President’s nod are the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill passed by West Bengal and the Disha and Shakti Bill

Shaken by the rape and murder of a young doctor Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the West Bengal Assembly, on September 3, 2024, passed the ‘Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024’ to amend provisions in existing laws to provide for stricter punishment for crimes against women and children.

While speaking in the Assembly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: “Rape is a now a national shame. Let us come together for social reform which is needed to prevent rapes.”

The Bill tweaks section 64 in the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS) and enhances the jail term to the “remainder of that person’s natural life and fine, or with death”. Additionally, it adds that this fine shall be fair and reasonable to meet the victim’s medical expenses and rehabilitation costs. The Bengal Bill proposes death penalty for rape resulting in the victim’s death or causing her to be in a vegetative state, while the existing Section 66 of the BNS allows for 20 years jail term, life imprisonment, and death for such a crime. In the cases of gangrape, the Bill seeks to amend Section 70 of BNS, increasing the punishment from 20 years to life imprisonment and death for those convicted of gangrape. The Bengal legislation also toughens the punishments in child abuse cases as laid down by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The proposed legislation seeks to penalise printing or publishing of any matter relating to court proceedings without permission with a punishment of “imprisonment of three to five years and fine”. The Bill mandates that a probe and trial must be completed within 21 days, with a possible extension of up to 15 days. The extension must be justified by a senior police officer. Trials in all sex crimes and acid attacks must be completed within 30 days. The Aparajita Bill legislation also includes provisions for setting up special courts to hear sexual violence cases and task forces to investigate them.

The legislation, while moved by the ruling Trinamool Congress, was unanimously passed but requires President Droupadi Murmu’s assent before it can come into force.

However, this is not the first time that a state assembly had tried to seek President’s assent regarding an anti-rape bill. The Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill 2019 and Shakti Bill passed by Maharashtra in 2020, both introduced in India in the wake of high-profile cases of sexual violence against women, demanding strict punishment, are still awaiting a nod from the President.

Both bills mandate death penalty for certain offenses against women, such as rape and gang rape. Additionally, both bills provide for the establishment of special courts to handle cases of violence against women and children. While the Shakti Bill was largely modelled after the Disha Bill, there were some minor differences in the specific provisions and timelines for investigations and trials. “Politics is involved in delaying the approval for the bill as a lot of MPs in BJP are accused in rape cases. The BJP fears that if this bill gets implemented, the death penalty will also apply to them as well,” says Vidya Chavan, Chief Spokesperson of the NCP (SP).

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