The 15-year-old once again demonstrated his impressive array of strokes powered by raw strength and precise timing, as Rajasthan kicked off their season’s home matches at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. He wielded his bat with ferocity, hitting 12 sixes and five fours in his quickfire 37-ball 103.
He reached his century with a six off Sakib Hussain (1/62) on his 36th ball, marking the third fastest IPL hundred, following his own 35-ball achievement last year and Chris Gayle’s historic 30-ball record for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in April 2013.
Sooryavanshi burst into action right away, smashing Praful Hinge (1/49) for two sixes towards the leg side and two over the top in the last four deliveries of the opening over, setting a brisk pace that only accelerated from there.
An unstoppable Sooryavanshi capitalized on every loose delivery, accumulating runs on both sides of the wicket as he forged two strong partnerships at the top, further bolstering RR’s momentum.
His explosive start contributed to a rapid 40 runs off just 14 balls for the opening wicket, and he followed it up with a 112-run partnership for the second wicket with Dhruv Jurel, who added a commendable 51 off 35 balls, hitting eight fours and two sixes.
Sooryavanshi’s firing innings came to a sudden halt right after he completed his hundred when he misjudged a scoop off Hussain and was trapped leg-before wicket.
Simultaneously, Jurel was fortunate on two occasions as Hussain failed to secure two challenging return catches during his follow-through.
Despite SRH managing to dismiss the perilous Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) early, they faltered with an opportunity presented by Eshan Malinga (2/38) in the fifth over to get rid of Sooryavanshi.
When facing a length ball, Sooryavanshi attempted to pull it to the leg side but mistimed it. Aniket Reddy sprinted in from deep midwicket but couldn’t hold onto the ball, resulting in a costly drop.
Sooryavanshi then reached his fifty off just 15 balls with a six in the sixth over bowled by Hussain.
RR’s innings also saw Donovan Ferreira contribute with a brisk 16-ball 33, featuring three sixes and three fours.
Amid the offensive display from RR’s batters, SRH’s regular skipper Pat Cummins returned with commendable figures of 4-0-27-1, with his sole wicket being that of his counterpart Riyan Parag (7).
(With PTI inputs)
