Rajasthan Royals’ teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi continued his sensational run in the Indian Premier League with a 15-ball fifty against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Suryavanshi, 15, whacked eight fours and seven sixes in a remarkable display of power-hitting before he fell for 78 from 26 balls to set up Royals’ successful chase of 202 with two overs to spare.
RCB’s bowling attack was boosted by the return of Australia star Josh Hazlewood, making his first appearance of the tournament because of an injury, but he and India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar were treated with disdain by the youngster in a brutal partnership of 108 from 37 balls with number three Dhruv Jurel.
The pair dominated the powerplay ruthlessly, reaching 97-1, with Suryavanshi reaching his fifty with a six.
It was the joint third-fastest IPL fifty in history and it was the second time he has achieved that feat in this year’s tournament, having also done so against Chennai Super Kings on 30 March.
He is yet to be capped by India at international level, but is now the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 200 runs in four innings at an incredible strike-rate of 266.6.
After Suryavanshi was dismissed by spinner Krunal Pandya, the Royals slipped from 129-1 to 134-4, but Jurel expertly controlled the remainder of the chase with a mature innings of 81 not out from 43 balls.