RR vs GT | 14-year-old Vaibhav smashes 15-year record with 35-ball ton to flabbergast Gujarat

Asked to bat first, Gujarat Titans' prolific opening pair of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan got off to their usual risk-free start as the flat track helped them place balls into the gaps with ease. The duo combined for seven fours in the powerplay to have the team sitting pretty at 53/0, before Gill broke the shackles against Riyan Parag to register the first maximum of the match. The GT skipper never looked back thereafter as he worked his way to a 29-ball half-century but Sai's struggles to score quickly at the other end meant the score was only 92/0 at the halfway stage of the innings. Sai ultimately tried to take Maheesh Theekshana for a six in the 11th over and holed out at long-on to end the 93-run stand, bringing the in-form Jos Buttler onto the crease. While the Englishman found his mark, Gill continued to play aggressor with two sixes in the 14th over -- enough to bring Buttler in the part as he took Wanindu Hasaranga apart for 24 runs the very next over. The wicket-keeper batter stayed till the end even after Gill departed for 84 to bring up a 26-ball half-century as a few cameos from the other end helped the visitors rack up over 50 runs in the final four overs to set a competitive target of 210.

That notion quickly disappeared when Vaibhav Suryavanshi began his innings with a second-ball six down the ground off Mohammed Siraj, and then notched up 28 runs off Ishant Sharma three balls later. Any ball in the 14-year-old's arc, or outside it for that matter, disappeared into the horizon with equal intensity. Such was the hitting prowess that Yashasvi Jaiswal felt sedate while striking at nearly 200 himself and by the 10-over mark, the Royals had already surpassed Titans' boundary count with 14 fours and 11 fours -- largely thanks to the 30 runs Vaibhav managed to take off Karim Janat's debut IPL over. To bring the fairytale to a fitting climax, the opener struck none other Rashid Khan beyond the fence to bring up a 35-ball ton, surpassing Yusuf Pathan's 37 ball effort in 2010 to rewrite the franchise record as well as make it the second fastest century in tournament history. A deafening standing ovation awaited Vaibhav when he finally succumbed to a searing Prasidh Krishna yorker soon after, but the required run rate by then had already fallen below run-a-ball. Jaiswal ensured there were no mishaps as he stayed till the end to rack up 70, while Riyan Parag fronted up as captain with a 15-ball knock of 32 to calm any nerves and achieve victory with 25 balls to spare.

Fastest Century by an Indian in IPL history 🔥 

— Vipin RC (@rc_vipin) 

History !

Have to give credits to 



For showcasing the PURE TALENT in the name of Suryavanshi to the World.    

— Satwik Mathangi (@seven_week) 

True!

What a Win

BrilliantChase 

— Sunny (@iSandyHans) 

Victory!

ONE OF THE GREATEST DAY IN THE HISTORY OF IPL.  

— Kusha Sharma (@Kushacritic)