Rahul Dravid forgets he has a fractured leg, jumps out of wheelchair and shouts after Vaibhav Suryavanshi hits century
The greatness of Vaibhav Suryavanshi's knock was summed up in a single moment, when Rajasthan head coach Rahul Dravid got off his wheelchair to celebrate.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi,all of just 14, carved out a masterclass of a knock at the Sawai Manshingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday night, to keep Rajasthan Royals mathematically alive in the race to the playoffs. Vaibhav scored a 35-ball century, the fastest-ever by an Indian in the history of the IPL, as Rajasthan beat Gujarat Titans by eight wickets. But the greatness of his knock was summed up in a single moment, when Rajasthan head coach Rahul Dravid got off his wheelchair to celebrate.
For the uninitiated, Dravid has been in a wheelchair since the start of the season after he injured his right leg while playing cricket with his sons in Bengaluru. In fact, he did not even get up from his wheelchair during post-match handshakes or team practices. But on Monday, it all went out the window.
As Vaibhav smashed a six against Rashid Khan in the 11th over to get to the milestone, Dravid jumped off his wheelchair in a freak celebration and applauded the historic knock. He broke Yusuf Pathan's 15-year-old record for the fastest IPL ton by an Indian, leaving him only behind Chris Gayle in the all-time list. The West Indies legend had hit a 30-ball century in 2013 for the RCB. At 14 years and 32 days, he also became the youngest-ever batter to score a T20 hundred.
The Vaibvhav Suryavanshi show
The wunderkind, who rose to fame at the age of 13 last November when he was acquired by the Royals for INR 1.1 crore, showed brutal power-hitting on Monday against a battery of seasoned international bowlers, including Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Washington Sundar. He clobbered Ishant for three sixes and two fours in one over and then took on Sundar for two sixes and a four to raise the 2025 IPL's fastest half-century off just 17 balls.
Vaibhav raced to 94 when he belted Afghanistan fast bowler Karim Janat for three sixes and three fours and did not think twice before smashing Rashid for a six to reach the triple-figure mark.
"It was incredible," Rajasthan captain Riyan Parag said of Suryavanshi. "We've spent two months with him (and) we have seen what he can do, but to see him do this against the world-class bowlers ... (I) can't express in words."
Vaibhav also stitched a 166-run opening stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored an unbeaten 70 off 40, as Rajasthan chased down 210 in 15.5 overs.
