The teenage sensation followed it up with a blistering 36-ball century in the Indian Premier League, smashing 12 sixes and five boundaries to bring up his second IPL hundred in style. The milestone came just after he crossed 1,000 T20 runs, having taken only 473 balls to reach the mark.
“There wasn’t much thinking… I just played according to the ball. The wicket felt good, so I backed my game,” said Sooryavanshi, who had hit four sixes in the first over. “I think about which bowlers are in the opposition, what shots I can play against them… I try to visualise all of that.”
He now holds the record, surpassing Australia’s Mitchell Owen, who had reached the milestone in 533 deliveries. The knock also stands as the third-fastest century in IPL history, behind Chris Gayle’s iconic 30-ball hundred in 2013 and Sooryavanshi’s own 35-ball effort from last season.
The teenager, who has yet to make his senior debut for India, has been in scorching form this season, having earlier scored two 15-ball fifties against Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Sooryavanshi fell at 103 off 37 balls, helping Rajasthan to post 228-6. Hyderabad chased down the target with nine balls to spare, driven by half-centuries from Ishan Kishan (74) and Abhishek Sharma (57).
Hyderabad and Rajasthan, both on 10 points, are four points above fifth-placed Chennai in the race to finish in the top four and progress to the playoffs. Punjab Kings lead the table with 13 points after pulling off a record chase of 265 against Delhi Capitals earlier in the day.
(With Reuters inputs)