Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed 93 from 38 balls as Rajasthan Royals beat Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets in Jaipur on Tuesday to move into the IPL top four.
The 15-year-old left-hander launched seven fours and 10 sixes in another brutal display of hitting as Rajasthan chased 221 with five balls remaining. The Royals now need victory against Mumbai Indians in their final league match to secure the last remaining playoff place.
Lucknow posted 220-5 after Mitchell Marsh fell four runs short of a century. The Australian opener struck 96 and shared a 109-run opening stand with Josh Inglis, who blasted 60 from 29 deliveries.
Nicholas Pooran fell cheaply, but Marsh continued to attack alongside captain Rishabh Pant, who made 35. Rajasthan’s bowlers recovered in the closing overs and denied Lucknow a bigger total when Marsh ran out on the penultimate ball of the innings.
Rajasthan responded with immediate aggression. Yashasvi Jaiswal, leading the side in place of injured captain Riyan Parag, hammered 43 from 23 balls in a rapid opening stand of 75 with Sooryavanshi.
After Jaiswal departed in the seventh over, Sooryavanshi took complete control. He reached his fifty from 23 balls before tearing into the Lucknow attack. He struck Prince Yadav for two sixes in succession and added another pair against Mayank Yadav in a 29-run over that shifted the chase firmly towards Rajasthan.
Dhruv Jurel supported him calmly with an unbeaten 53. The pair added 105 runs and removed any pressure from the chase before Mohsin Khan finally dismissed Sooryavanshi in the deep.
The teenager now leads the IPL run charts with 579 runs in 13 matches at a strike-rate of 237.29. He has already scored one century in a breakthrough season.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad have already secured playoff qualification. Rajasthan and several others now battle for the final place before the league stage ends.
