New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals’ teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi turned heads with his match-winning 93 in his team’s crucial victory over Lucknow Super Giants and drew high praise from ex-India batting coach Sanjay Bangar, who said he falls short of words every time he sees Sooryavanshi perform.

Sooryavanshi let his bat do most of the talking at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, smashing a blistering 93 off just 38 balls as RR chased down 221 with ease. Opening alongside stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal, the teenager helped RR race to 71 without loss in the powerplay before taking complete control of the chase after Jaiswal’s dismissal.

He brought up his fifty in just 23 balls and later became the first Indian batter in IPL history to hit 50 sixes in a single season. He was eventually dismissed in the 14th over but not before taking the game away from LSG and putting RR on the brink of victory.

“Can’t really explain it; words are not sufficient. They can’t do justice to the kind of ability this young boy, this young prodigy, possesses. Some of those shots were extraordinary, to say the least. To hit over the cover boundary on a consistent basis, against pace, against spin, and whenever the ball was dug in short, was exceptional,” Bangar told JioStar.

The teenage batter’s latest achievement made him the youngest player in IPL history to reach 500 runs in a season, beating Rishabh Pant, who hit the same milestone at 20 in 2018. Now, with 574 runs in IPL 2026, Sooryavanshi set a new record with a strike rate of 236.3, the highest ever in an IPL season for a player with over 500 runs, surpassing Andre Russell’s 204.8 in 2019 and Abhishek Sharma’s 202.0 this season.

“And mind you, there were so many bowlers in this Lucknow Super Giants line-up bowling in excess of 145 kph, but that didn’t really bother this kid. He put on a masterclass, a sensational Vaibhav Suryavanshi innings indeed. Terrific to watch, great entertainment. And he is definitely going to draw crowds wherever he goes and wherever he plays,” Bangar added.

After Sooryvanshi’s dismissal, Dhruv Jurel, who scored his fifth fifty of the season, and Donovan Ferreira added the finishing touches to help RR over the finish line and keep them firmly in the IPL 2026 playoffs race.

–IANS

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