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Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi grabbed a lot of eyeballs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction held in Jeddah, after getting fetched for INR 1.1 crore by the 2008 champions. On April 28, he justified his price tag with his 35-ball ton in the IPL 2025 match against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. His superb century also placed him in the second spot on the list of batters with the fastest IPL tons. Riding on his stupendous batting display, RR chased down a heavy target of 210 runs in 15.5 overs and bagged an eight-wicket win.
After noting his son’s incredible century, Vaibhav’s father expressed gratitude to the RR team management including Rahul Dravid and Sairaj Bahutule. However, on the occasion of Suryavanshi’s spectacular innings, it’s essential to recount the incident when former India batter VVS Laxman boosted the youngster's confidence. During India's U-19 quadrangular series against England, Australia, and Bangladesh in 2023, when the teenage cricketer failed to be impactful with his bat, he was found crying in the dressing room by India legend. Noting him disheartened, Laxman gave him courage.
“In one of the games, Vaibhav was run out for 36. So, he started crying in the dressing room. When Laxman saw this, he came to him and said, ‘We don’t only see the runs here. We see people who have the skill for the long run.’ Laxman saw his potential very quickly. The BCCI has backed him too,” revealed Suryavanshi’s coach Manoj Ojha in November 2024.
RR win their third game in IPL 2025
With the victory against GT in Jaipur, RR have been promoted to the eighth spot on the points table, with three wins and seven losses in 10 matches. The triumph in the home contest has kept RR’s playoff chances alive. Their next clash will be against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Jaipur on April 1.
MI have won their last five games emphatically and Rajasthan will have to be wary of Hardik Pandya and his men. Mumbai clinched a 54-run win against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their last game played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on April 27.
