‘Class’: 14-year-old Suryavanshi’s record-breaking IPL ton gets ‘Hitman’ seal of approval

NEW DELHI: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma hailed 14-year-old Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Vaibhav Suryanshi’s record-breaking century against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Monday.

Suryavanshi registered his name in record books as the youngest T20 centurion and fastest Indian ton-maker in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history. Following his record-breaking feat against GT in Jaipur, Rohit posted about Vaibhav on his Instagram story, captioning it ‘Class’.

Star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya also posted on his Instagram story about the 14-year old, “What a talent! What a performance”.

During the run-chase of 210 runs, fans were treated to some insanely clean ball-striking from Vaibhav, who scored 101 in just 38 balls, with seven fours and 11 sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 265.79.

Vaibhav reached his century in 35 balls, which is the second-fastest century in IPL history, behind Chris Gayle’s 30-ball ton against the now-defunct Pune Warriors India for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) back in 2013. Vaibhav is now also the fastest Indian to score a century in the IPL.

The left-hander, at the age of 14 years and 32 days, is the youngest player to score a century in T20 cricket history, surpassing Vijay Zol ,who was 18 years and 118 days old while scoring a century for Maharashtra against Mumbai in 2013. This is also the seventh-fastest century in T20 cricket, with the fastest one belonging to Sahil Chauhan of Estonia against Cyprus in 2024, coming in just 27 balls.

Suryavanshi also reached his fifty in just 17 balls, the fifth-fastest in league history, making him the youngest ever to score an IPL fifty. Ninety four of Suryavanshi’s runs came through boundaries, with seven fours and 11 sixes included. 93% boundary percentage is the highest in any century in IPL’s history.

Also, Vaibhav tied with former Indian batter Murali Vijay for most sixes by an Indian in an IPL innings, 11 each, with most sixes overall being hit by Gayle during his iconic 175* against Pune Warriors India, which included 17 maximums.

Also, the 166-run stand between Vaibhav and Yashasvi Jaiswal is the highest partnership for any wicket for Rajasthan Royals, surpassing 155 by Jos Buttler & Devdutt Padikkal against DC at the Wankhede in 2022.

Vaibhav, who kickstarted his IPL career by slamming a sixer against Shardul Thakur on his very first ball in the competition, has now made 151 runs in three matches at an average of 75.50 and a strike rate of 222.05, with the best score of 101*.

During the IPL mega-auction last year, one of the biggest surprises that emerged was Suryavanshi becoming a Royal for Rs 1.1 crore. Born on March 27, 2011, in Bihar, Vaibhav is the youngest player on the list. He made his first-class debut for Bihar in January 2024 at just 12 years and 284 days old. Last year, he was part of India U19’s match against Australia in Chennai, where he smashed a 58-ball century.

He also made his T20 debut for Bihar during the SMAT 2024 tournament, though he could not score much in his only outing. He was also the seventh-highest run-getter in the ACC Under 19 Asia Cup 2024-25. He scored 176 runs in 5 matches in the tournament with a highest score of 76*.

Coming to the match, GT was put to bat first by RR and half-centuries from skipper Shubman Gill (84 in 50 balls, with five fours and four sixes) and Jos Buttler (50* in 26 balls, with three fours and four sixes) were the top knocks as GT reached 209/4 in 20 overs, with Maheesh Theekshana (2/35) being the top bowler for RR.

In the run-chase, Jaiswal (70* in 40 balls, with nine fours and two sixes) and Vaibhav Suryanvanshi (101 in 38 balls, with seven fours and 11 sixes) blew the opposition out of the water, posting a quickfire 166-run stand in just 71 balls. Later, Riyan Parag (32* in 15 balls, with two fours and two sixes) played a quick cameo, guiding his team to a win in 15.5 overs.

RR is at the eighth spot, with three wins and seven losses, giving them six points. GT is at the third spot, with six wins and three losses, giving them 12 points. (ANI)