Days after turning 15, Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi found a perfect way to celebrate by scoring a half-century off 15 balls in an impressive eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Suryavanshi, who made a splash in his debut season with a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans last year, took just 15 balls to score his first half-century of the season – the third fifty-plus score of his eight-match IPL career so far.
Along with fellow opener and India batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryavanshi tore apart the Chennai attack in the powerplay, taking the team to 74 without loss.
Suryavanshi was out after scoring 52 runs in 17 balls with the help of five sixes and four fours and made a stormy partnership of 75 runs with Jaiswal. Chasing the victory target of 128 runs, Rajasthan won in just 12.1 overs.
“I think about the defense but the plan was to decide the game in the powerplay because we restricted them to low scores,” Suryavanshi said.
“If the bowlers had bowled well in the powerplay, perhaps the turn of the match would have changed, but we gave our full strength in the powerplay.”
The Under-19 World Cup winner credited Rajasthan coach Kumar Sangakkara and staff for supporting his aggressive streak.
“He asked me to read the situation well and support his game,” he said.
Fast bowling was attempted after Rajasthan’s fast bowling. His onslaught took Chennai to 41-4 at the end of the powerplay, leaving the visitors firmly on the back foot before being bowled out for 127 in 19.4 overs.
South African fast bowler Nandre Berger led the way with figures of 2-26 and was named player of the match, while Jofra Archer and Ravindra Jadeja also took two wickets each.
Rajasthan will next face Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Saturday, while Chennai will host Punjab Kings on Friday.
