Lucknow – Fast-bowler Mohsin Khan produced a tidy slice of history on Wednesday, sending down the first maiden over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has ever faced in the IPL – and topping it off by removing the Rajasthan Royals opener for 8 (11). For a 15-year-old whose tournament strike-rate sits at a staggering 213, the hush was noticeable.
Khan’s six-ball spell, delivered at the start of the powerplay, read: dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, wicket. The left-armer hovered in the low-140s kph, used the wobble-seam, and kept the length teasingly back of a good length. Each ball brought a steadily rising murmur from the Ekana crowd.
Ball one was stabbed towards backward point; ball two, a straighter block to cover. By the fourth delivery, the commentary had already noted the rarity of Sooryavanshi leaving fourth gear: “More caution from Sooryavanshi,” came the on-air call. On 3.5, luck nearly ran out – “Almost nicked off!” – as the teenager flirted outside off. One ball later, fortune deserted him entirely. Trying to muscle a fullish length ball over long-on, he found only the outer half of the bat. Substitute fielder Arshin Rathi judged the steepler perfectly on the run. “Not Sooryavanshi’s day,” the commentary concluded, “the first big hit he attempts, he’s gone.”
Khan kept celebration low-key – a grin, arms aloft, a gentle tap to his badge – but his captain, KL Rahul, quickly pointed out the value of the over. “Those six dots set the tone. On surfaces like this every legal delivery matters,” he said during the innings break.
Sooryavanshi’s dismissal trimmed Royals to 23 for 1. They eventually crawled to 146, a total that looked light even before the halfway mark. Whether the young opener will dial back the aggression next time remains to be seen, yet Royals management sounded calm. Assistant coach Trevor Penney noted, “He’s 15. One quiet over doesn’t change what he can do.”
For Lucknow, Khan’s maiden stands as a reminder that pressure, even in a T20 carnival, often trumps pyrotechnics.
