01 May,2026 06:42 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Ian Bishop (Pic: X/@rajasthanroyals)
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) are all geared up to lock horns with the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2026 match on Friday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
Ahead of the match, several cricket fans will be excited to yet again witness the towering maximums and glorious strokes from RR's swashbuckling opening batsman, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Speaking during a Media Day, former West Indies cricketer Ian Bishop feels that it is hard to pick the left-handed batsman's weakness, as he has already tasted success against the world's best bowlers.
"I think psychologically, or from a character standpoint, he is very tough because he's taking on many of the world's best bowlers. We've seen clips of Jofra Archer running into him in the nets and him playing the pull and lofted shots, and he's taken on Jasprit Bumrah as well. Technically, he's unique, with a bat swing more like a baseball swing, and it's hard to pinpoint a clear weakness," he said.
He then cited the example of how Punjab Kings' (PBKS) star pacer Arshdeep Singh bowled yorkers against Sooryavanshi, showing how difficult it is to bowl the 15-year-old cricketer.
"The back-of-a-length delivery has troubled him at times in the Under-19 World Cup and against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but if it's not executed well, those same balls disappear out of the park. He has world-class bowlers trying plans A, B, C, to E, F and G and that's a good sign. We saw Arshdeep go yorker after yorker at him, which shows how difficult he is to contain. He's set up well, and I don't think there's any one clear plan yet against Vaibhav," added Bishop.
Currently, the Royals are in the fourth position with six victories out of nine matches. They also have a net run rate (NRR) of +0.617 and 12 points.
On the other hand, the Capitals are placed in the seventh position on the points table. Having played eight matches so far, they have secured wins in three games and have a net run rate (NRR) of -1.060 and six points.
Rajasthan Royals: Ravindra Jadeja, Sandeep Sharma, Adam Milne, Donovan Ferreira (WK), Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande, Sam Curran, Nandre Burger, Riyan Parag (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Sen, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sushant Mishra, Yudhvir Singh, Shubham Dubey, Vignesh Puthur, Aman Rao, Kwena Maphaka, Yash Punja, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Singh (WK), Brijesh Sharma.
Delhi Capitals: David Miller, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, KL Rahul (WK), Karun Nair, Axar Patel (C), Ben Duckett (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Pathum Nissanka, Ajay Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel (WK), Vipraj Nigam, Tripurana Vijay, Sahil Parakh, Madhav Tiwari.
