Vaibhav Sooryavanshi watched from the dugout as Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis sprayed fours and sixes all around the ground in the first half of the game. Then, he entered the arena as the show-stopper in the second half and upstaged all that was done before him to gift his team a much-needed win.

Thanks to Sooryavanshi’s superlative strokeplay — he hit 10 sixes and seven fours — the Rajasthan Royals, starved of a win for three back-to-back matches, chased down Lucknow Super Giants’ 220/5 with five balls to spare.

The win in Jaipur took the Royals to 14 points — one more than Punjab Kings — and fourth place. They play their last match against Mumbai Indians on Sunday and if
they win that game, they will qualify for the playoffs irrespective of what happens in the other games. Tuesday’s victory was indeed a big one for the Royals.

It wouldn’t have been possible without Sooryavanshi’s breathtaking innings. The 15-year-old continues to excel, with very few bowlers looking capable enough to tie him down.

After sitting out while the Royals fielded and got thrashed by the Lucknow batters, Sooryavanshi, coming in as an Impact Player, was uncharacteristically slow at the start of his innings. But as it turned out, he was only getting a measure of the attack before going into his top gear.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, the other Royals opener who also captained the side on Tuesday as regular skipper Riyan Parag sat out with a hamstring niggle, began the chase on a rousing note with an innings of 43 off 23 balls.

Once Jaiswal was dismissed, Sooryavanshi spread his wings, unleashing one big shot after another as the Lucknow attack looked absolutely clueless. The kid assassin looted 93 off 38 balls — a strike rate of 244.73. When he was dismissed by Mohsin Khan, off the last ball of the 14th over, the Royals were already 180, needing just 41 more from the remaining six overs.

Dhruv Jurel remained not out on 53 off 38 balls to take the Royals home.

Sooryavanshi, adjudged the Player of the Match, said that despite the tall target, he was never in a hurry.

“I was sitting while (the team was) bowling and the wicket looked good, I didn’t want to rush, wanted to take my time. I knew that was going to help the other batter too. I always knew I could hit anytime and didn’t want to rush at all.”

Effort in vain

It wasn’t a day of hundreds.

Like Sooryavanshi, Mitchell Marsh too played a stunning knock, but missed out on a well-deserved century. He was dismissed on 96 off 57 balls.

Australians Marsh and Inglis unleashed hell on the home team’s attack after being invited to bat.

Marsh finished with more runs, but it was Inglis (60 off 29 balls) who was deadlier in the initial overs. Inglis slammed seven fours and three sixes before 19-year-old Royals leg-spinner Yash Raj Punja got rid of him.

The openers shared a 109-run stand in just over eight overs, but Lucknow fell short by 20-odd runs in their total as the Royals bowlers pulled things back.