Vaibhav Sooryavanshi viral fan interaction: Not just on the cricket field in Wellington, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi grabbed everyone’s attention off the field too as an interaction between the 15-year-old and a woman went viral post the Men in Blue’s series-clinching victory on Tuesday.
Moved to his usual opening spot after a flop show at no.3, Sooryavanshi entertained the crowds with a 19-ball 45 at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington as India chased down New Zealand’s 198/3 in just 13.2 overs. thus taking a unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Post India’s win, Sooryavanshi was giving autographs to a handful Indian fans on the sidelines, when the Indian woman showered the Indian cricketer with a simple, affectionate and a motherly advice for the teenager, the video of which went viral on social media.
As Sooryavanshi was busy giving autographs, the woman, probably in her late thirtes, adviced the teenager to not drink cold water. “Garam paani piyo, thanda mat peena (Drink warm water. Don’t drink cold water),” the woman can be heard saying.
The woman also told Sooryavanshi, “Hum bhi Ballia se hain” (We are also from Ballia).” Ballia is a district in Uttar Pradesh, and is approximately 201 to 230 kilometers away from Bihar’s Samastipur, from where Sooryavanshi hails. The young Indian cricketer responded, “Achha ji, theek hai” (Okay, all right)”, along with a warm smile on his face.
Viral Ballia woman explains her advice
He also took a picture with the woman. meanwhile, the woman, named Chetana Singh, also posted a video after the incident, explaining her intentions while advising Sooryavanshi to drink warm water. “As you all know that my video with Vaibhav went viral, I adviced him to drink warm water from the closeness that we share as Indians,” the woman said.
“Since he is from Bihar and I am from Ballia, we are culturally very close. Also the fact that the weather in Wellington was a bit harsh yesterday, and it was pretty cold on the field and Vaibhav was also feeling a bit uncomfortable. Like I advice my all brothers, I told Vaibhav too.”
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi outsmarts NZ pacers
Having warmed the benches in the series against Afghanistan and West Indies, Sooryavanshi didn’t play in the first game against New Zealand. The southpaw got a chance in the second game after Ishan Kishan sustained a groin injury, but it was Samson who opened the innings with Abhishek Sharma an forcing Sooryavanshi at no.3. The 15-year-old managed just 4.
In the third game, Samson allowed Sooryavanshi to open the innings with Abhishek. The move paid off as Abhishek smashed a brilliant 38-ball 113 and added a whopping 133 runs in seven overs with Sooryavanshi (45 off 19 balls), thus taking the game away from te home side. During his innings, Sooryavanshi smashed four fours and as many sixes.
New Zealand finally found a breakthrough in the eighth over when Matthew Fisher dismissed Sooryavanshi. With the series already in India’s pocket, a sell-out crowd of around 40,000 is expected for the fourth T20I at Eden Park on Friday, making it the third-biggest attendance in the Auckland venue’s history. The first three games were also sold out.