Follow UsRajasthan Royals' (RR) batting coach Vikram Rathour said he can keep talking about Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s insane knock “endlessly” after the 14-year-old slammed the second-fastest ton in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The RR opener smashed 101 off 38 deliveries, studded with seven fours and 11 sixes, helping RR chase down 209 with more than four overs to spare against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Jaipur on April 28 (Monday).
"It was really, really special. We've been watching him in the nets for the last few months. We knew what he was capable of and the kind of shots he could play. But to do it in front of such a big crowd, in a high-pressure situation, against a strong bowling attack — that was truly special. A lot of credit to him," said Rathour.
"He's a special, special talent. Technically, he has a great downswing, which helps him generate that kind of power. Today, he showed everyone exactly how good he is. Honestly, you could keep talking about that knock endlessly.
"For a 14-year-old kid to play like that — that itself is special. We first saw him around four months ago during the trials, and from that moment, we knew we had found something extraordinary. It was up to us to nurture him and bring him to this level. Credit to him — he kept his nerves, showed great temperament, and played an extraordinary innings today.”
The left-hander from Bihar, who was bought by RR for INR 1.1 crore in the IPL 2025 auction, smoked Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Karim Janat and R Sai Kishore like they were some school-level bowlers. Former West Indies paceman Ian Bishop, who is now a renowned commentator, couldn’t believe what he witnessed.
"They are allowing young players to come in, most franchises, and be free, be fearless, 'don't worry about your failure', and that's a big shift in Indian cricket, with guys like Yashasvi Jaiswal and others. That's a big shift in Indian cricket - let's not look past that. A few generations ago, 'play properly, you get two failures and you're gone'. Now it's a different culture,” Bishop said on ESPNcricinfo's Time Out show.
"I don't care what GT served up (with the ball) on a platter, the kid is 14 years old! He demolished what was served to him tonight." Bishop said. "You can take nothing away. Going forward, (we can ask) how do they come at him in the next game, how does he counter what's going to be thrown at him, but for tonight, I don't care whether (the bowlers) served him oranges…
"I hope we don't go too far with praising him, but you cannot step back from the fact that tonight was absolutely mind-blowing, other-wordly."