Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old India prodigy, smashed 93 from 38 balls as Rajasthan Royals beat Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Tuesday, dragging his side back into the IPL play-off race with three group games to play. The opener struck seven sixes and 11 fours, falling seven short of becoming the youngest centurion in T20 history, before Royals chased down 181 with 23 balls to spare to climb to fifth in the table.
The innings: ferocity from ball one
Sooryavanshi needed no settling-in period. He clattered Shardul Thakur for 22 from the second over of the chase, depositing two consecutive deliveries over long-on and a third over deep midwicket. By the powerplay’s end Rajasthan were 78-0 and the teenager had moved to 54 from 19 balls, the fastest fifty by an under-16 cricketer in a recognised senior T20 competition.
Lucknow captain Rishabh Pant rotated his bowlers with increasing desperation. Ravi Bishnoi, the leg-spinner who had taken 3-21 against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, conceded 18 from his second over, including a slog-swept six that cleared the stadium roof. Mayank Yadav’s pace — touching 152kph — was met with a controlled upper cut for six over third man, the kind of shot that requires a mature read of length rarely seen from a player two months past his 15th birthday.
The end came in the 11th over. Attempting to bring up his hundred with a third consecutive maximum off Avesh Khan, Sooryavanshi miscued a slower ball to long-off, where Nicholas Pooran held a steepling catch. He walked off to a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd of 30,000, with captain Sanju Samson — unbeaten on 41 at the other end — embracing him at the boundary’s edge.
Why this matters beyond one match
Sooryavanshi became the youngest IPL player in history when Rajasthan handed him his debut against Lucknow on 19 April, breaking a record held since 2009 by Pradeep Sangwan. He registered a 35-ball century in that game, the second-fastest in IPL history behind Chris Gayle’s 30-ball effort for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013. Tuesday’s 93 was his fourth fifty-plus score in seven innings; he now averages 52.4 at a strike rate of 218.
India’s national selectors have already confirmed his inclusion in the A-team squad for the upcoming five-day tour of England, which begins on 30 May. Former India opener Aakash Chopra, commentating for Star Sports, called the innings “the clearest case for fast-tracking a teenager into senior international cricket since Sachin Tendulkar in 1989”. The comparison carries weight: Tendulkar made his Test debut at 16 years and 205 days, an age Sooryavanshi will not reach until March 2027.
The economic significance is harder to ignore. Rajasthan paid 1.1 crore (£103,000) for Sooryavanshi at last November’s auction. His current tournament strike rate would, by conservative modelling from CricViz, place him second only to Andre Russell among players with 200+ runs this season. Three sponsors — Adidas, boAt, and Asian Paints — are understood to have approached his family’s representatives in the past week.
What it means for the Royals’ run-in
Rajasthan now sit fifth with 14 points from 11 matches, level with Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their remaining fixtures — Chennai Super Kings (away), Punjab Kings (home), and Gujarat Titans (home) — are all winnable on current form. Net run rate, boosted by Tuesday’s emphatic margin, has moved from -0.142 to +0.085, lifting them above Delhi in the tie-breaker calculation.
Head coach Rahul Dravid, speaking afterwards, was measured. “We have to be careful with him. He’s 15. There will be days he gets out for two and the same crowd will want to know why. Our job is to make sure he plays for India for 20 years, not 20 weeks.”
Lucknow’s defeat, their fifth in six matches, leaves them seventh and effectively eliminated from play-off contention barring a mathematical miracle. Pant’s side now travel to Kolkata on Friday knowing only a 4-0 finish and significant net run rate swings will keep them alive.
For Rajasthan, the equation is simpler. Two wins from three should be enough. And on this evidence, they have the most destructive 15-year-old in cricket’s history to deliver them.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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