Suryavanshi the youngest IPL centurion, RR win to stay in the mix
The 14-year-old hits second fastest T20 ton as Royals chase down 209 with 25 balls to spare, beat Gujarat Titans by 8 wickets
Kolkata: Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest to score an IPL hundred, and the second fastest ever off 35 balls, to decimate Gujarat Titans by eight wickets after a scintillating pursuit of 209 that Rajasthan Royals pulled off in 15.5 overs in Jaipur on Monday.
Raising his maiden IPL fifty in 17 balls, Raghuvanshi continued in the same vein, hitting an astounding 11 sixes and seven fours in his 101 before he was eventually cleaned up by Prasidh Krishna in the 12th over. Unprecedented scenes had been unleashed by then with Royals scoring 87 in the Powerplay, reaching 100 in the eighth over and aggregating 14 runs per over by the time Raghuvanshi was dismissed. In the end, Royals cantered to a win that keeps them alive in the tournament.
Nine out of 10 times, wicketkeepers can catch skiers with eyes closed. The one time though is when the catch, seemingly easy, would be put down. The seventh delivery of the chase, Jos Buttler had his eyes glued on the ball, haring across the ground to place himself under the catch after asking other fielders to stay out of the way, only to get his fingertips on it. What ensued after that was calculated mayhem, Yashasvi Jaiswal making the most of the life by clobbering Ishant Sharma over wide long-on for six before creaming 13 off the next over from Mohammed Siraj.
Punching holes in the Titans’ ego however was Suryavanshi, almost mocking their bowling while blitzing to a sensational hundred. First on his crosshairs was Ishant, who has been playing IPL well before Suryavanshi was born. Pulling him for six, then going back in the crease to unleash another six over midwicket, Suryavanshi was understandably trying to match Jaiswal. He did that and more. Showing great footwork, moving deep inside the crease to shorten the length of the ball, Suryavanshi tried to go long and across.
Washington Sundar was targetted, Rashid Khan was drilled down the ground and Karim Janat was taken apart for 30 runs in his first over as Suryavanshi set himself up for a majestic hundred. Fittingly, it came against Rashid as the teenager went on his back foot to pull the best T20 spinner over deep mid-wicket for a massive six. It’s just seemed it was Suryavanshi’s day.
Nothing seemed wrong with the Titans’ batting first up. Till the 17th over have the top-three of Gujarat Titans always batted in this IPL and they extended that streak at Jaipur too. Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan once again put on a huge opening stand before Buttler put to sword the hapless Royals bowling. It was nothing we haven’t seen before yet surprising is the consistency that the Titans have established. This time, however, Royals would probably take more blame than other teams, particularly for dropping Sudharsan in the second over, Hetmyer spilling a regulation catch at extra cover.
His was the typical slow-burn innings, giving Titans adequate footing after kicking off with a cluster of boundaries. Once the Powerplay was finished though, Sudharsan consolidated like he does, working the gaps against spinners. Gill however was on a different gear once he entered the middle overs, smashing Sandeep Sharma over midwicket for six before shuffling across the stumps to flick pacer Yudhvir Singh over deep square leg for another six.
By then, Buttler had entered the fray, making up for another slow start by going after Wanindu Hasaranga’s leg breaks. When he flighted, Buttler slog swept him over square leg for six. When he was fuller and wider, Buttler went down the pitch and muscled it straight over his head for six. Another four and a dazed Hasaranga conceded a half tracker, allowing Buttler time to rock back and find half a dozen more. Only three sixes were hit in the last five overs yet Titans had no problem adding 60 runs. In the end, nothing mattered because Suryavanshi batted, and how.
