Vaibhav Suryavanshi, at the age of 14 years and 32 days, produced one of the all-time great knocks in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), smashing 101 off just 38 balls to help Rajasthan Royals (RR) pull off a chase of 210 against Gujarat Titans in just 15.5 overs in IPL 2025. Suryavanshi broke several world records, including becoming the youngest-ever centurion in T20 cricket and the fastest-ever Indian centurion in IPL history. South Africa great Shaun Pollock has labelled Suryavanshi’s knock as the “greatest performance” in IPL history.
“For me, this is the greatest individual performance in the IPL, ever. It’s got to be. For a 14-year-old to go out there and smash around and get a hundred off 35 balls, that has to be the greatest performance in IPL history,” said Pollock, speaking on Cricbuzz Live.
“I thought corporate punishments for kids were done and dusted. He has come out as a schoolboy and given them some corporate punishment,” Pollock added.
Suryavanshi’s knock of 101 off 38 balls helped RR pull off the fastest 200-plus run chase in IPL history, as they chased down 210 with 4.1 overs to spare. Such was the brilliance of the 14-year-old’s innings that opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal‘s great knock of 70 off 40 balls almost went unnoticed.
Suryavanshi thrashed Afghan debutant Karim Janat for 30 runs in a single over and veteran India pacer Ishant Sharma for 28 in one over, slamming 11 sixes and seven boundaries during his rampage. He was ultimately bowled by Prasidh Krishna.
Legendary Australian opener Adam Gilchrist praised Suryavanshi’s strokeplay, shot-selection and range of shots.
“I was really impressed with the calmness and shot-selection. He goes aggressively on the leg-side, that’s a big strength of his. But by the end of the innings, I was impressed that he has a greater array of shots than just a slog over mid-wicket,” Gilchrist said.
“To the spinners, getting down and getting creative to low-down lap over backward square-leg. To the quicks, he opened up a bit of an off-side game and held position. That told me he had settled into a rhythm, which allowed his natural game to come through,” said Gilchrist.
The victory helped Rajasthan Royals stay alive in the playoffs race, as they notched up their third win of the season. Gujarat Titans suffered their third defeat of IPL 2025, and fell to third spot in the points table.
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