Jaipur: It was the sort of innings the IPL has been dreaming about for 17 years now. The cricketing world was left applauding in awe as a 14-yearold, batting against bowlers twice his age — some of them older — smashed the second fastest IPL century, a near-superhuman exhibition of phenomenal power hitting which blended the fearlessness of youth with the kind of raw ability that shapes legends.
To top it all, he seemed to have all the luck as well. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, take a bow. At just 14 years and 32 days, Suryavanshi became the youngest centurion in men’s T20s. Rajasthan Royals may well have unearthed a gem for Indian cricket. On his IPL debut, he had tears in his eyes when he lost his wicket.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! On Monday, chasing a 210-run target against Gujarat Titans, Suryavanshi — who got to the three-figure mark off just 35 balls, ruining many a reputation along the way — had only a beaming smile when he reached the dugout after being dismissed for 101 (38 balls; 7x4, 11x6).
Even the usually dour Rahul Dravid, head coach, couldn’t stop smiling as he stood up, clutches forgotten, to applaud what will go down as a marker for the future of T20 batting — Suryavanshi scored at a staggering strike rate of 265.78. His opening partnership of 166 runs in 11.5 overs with Yashasvi Jaiswal ensured the Royals, down on their luck this season, reached the target in just 15.5 overs to keep their slim hopes mathematically alive.
Even Suryavanshi’s mishits seemed to sail over the ropes. Gujarat’s bowlers, reduced to spectators, rushed to congratulate the new phenomenon once Prasidh Krishna pushed one through his defences. “It was an incredible innings, one of the best I’ve seen,” Jaiswal would later say. “I just kept telling him to keep going.
He has the game, the temperament and the mentality. He just played amazing shots.” Suryavanshi’s knock, and the stand with Jaiswal, put to shade the fine efforts of Gujarat’s top three batters earlier in the game. Gill, blending his classic approach with aggression, led from the front as he cruised to 84 off 50 balls with the help of five fours and four sixes.
Buttler’s breezy, unbeaten 50 off 26 balls, in which he smacked three boundaries and four sixes, exposed the chinks in the Royals bowling attack. The Titans captain continued his prolific opening partnership with Sai Sudharsan (39 off 30 balls; 4x4, 1x6), and they would have come away hoping the total would have been enough. The incredible Suryavanshi had other ideas.
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