'Sachin Tendulkar, 17, shocked the living daylights out of me. And Vaibhav Suryavanshi here is just...': Ian Bishop

West Indies legend Ian Bishop saw shades of a young Sachin Tendulkar in Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who hogged the limelight with his mind-blowing 35-ball century in the Rajasthan Royals' eight-wicket win against the Gujarat Titans. Vaibhav, all of just 14, became the youngest batter to score a ton in T20 cricket, and became the fastest-ever Indian to reach the mark in IPL history.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo after witnessing the brilliant knock on the batting-friendly Sawai Mansingh Stadium track, which saw the Royals chase down 210 in just 15.5 overs, Bishop narrated an unheard story about facing a 17-year-old Sachin in a tour game.

In July 1990, a Mohammad Azharuddin-led Indian side took on Derbyshire in a tour match on a bouncy Chesterfield track. Having set a target of 234 in the first innings, Bishop recalled that the hosts were comfortably in the game until they encountered the teen sensation. The tall, fast bowler strategised to bounce him out, but Sachin responded by smashing a back-of-the-length delivery over mid-wicket for a six. Bishop admitted that he was shocked at being hit the farthest by any batter in his career.

"I was playing for Derbyshire, and we were playing against India at Chesterfield. Never forgot it. We batted first, and we must have made... don't know the exact numbers. Chesterfield bounces. You get in there, and it bounces. We were in the game, and this little...he was this high (gesturing with his hand), and he came into bat, faced a couple of balls, and I thought, okay, we've got this sewn up. The asking rate is a little challenging towards the end of the game, and this little kid cannot hit me anywhere. I ran up, and I made the mistake of bowling a little back of a length, thinking I'd talk him up and he hit me into a tree, way over deep mid-wicket, as far as I've ever been hit before. Sachin Tendulkar, age 17, shocked the living daylights out of an Ian Bishop in his pomp," he said.

In a match where none of the visiting batters scored more than 35 runs, Sachin ended up with an unbeaten 105 to help the tourists win by two wickets.

Turning his attention to Vaibhav, Bishop said that he is even younger than what Sachin was in the game against Derbyshire, and the likes of Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Rashid Khan must have gone through the same, which he felt 35 years back.

"This kid here is even younger. He's 14 years old, taking on world-class bowlers. That must have shocked the living daylights out of Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and all the rest," he added.

Vaibhav showed brutal power-hitting on Monday against those seasoned international bowlers. He smacked Ishant Sharma for three sixes and two fours in one over and clobbered spinner Washington Sundar for two sixes and a four to raise the 2025 IPL's fastest half-century off 17 balls. He then raced to 94 when he belted Afghanistan fast bowler Karim Janat for three sixes and three fours, and raised the hundred against Rashid Khan.

Even Sachin was impressed with Vaibhav's knock as he tweeted: "Vaibhav's fearless approach, bat speed, picking the length early, and transferring the energy behind the ball was the recipe behind a fabulous innings. End result: 101 runs off 38 balls. Well played!!"