Romario Shepherd unleashed one of the most destructive knocks in IPL history to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru overpower Chennai Super Kings in a high-scoring IPL 2025 thriller at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
Named after Brazilian football legend Romario, the Guyana-born West Indian all-rounder had largely flown under the radar in the IPL so far.
But against CSK on Saturday, he played a whirlwind knock of 53 not out off just 14 balls, slamming six sixes and four boundaries, to leave the packed home crowd in raptures.
Shepherd turned the game on its head in the final overs, hammering 33 runs off the penultimate over bowled by Khaleel Ahmed, followed by 21 more in the last over off Matheesha Pathirana.
The 54 runs scored by RCB in the last two overs marked the highest ever by any team in the history of the IPL.
Shepherd's personal tally in the final two overs reached an astonishing 128 runs off 42 balls at a strike rate of 304, including 10 fours and 13 sixes across the death overs this IPL season.
He also equalled the record for the second-fastest fifty in IPL history, reaching the milestone off just 14 balls.
Shepherd's incredible innings vs CSK: 0, 1, 6, 6, 4, 6, 6, 0, 4, 4, 0, 4, 6, 6.
Though known for his power-hitting, Shepherd rarely got the opportunity to showcase his skills in the IPL.
In his previous three seasons, he featured in just 10 matches across three different teams, struggling to find consistent backing. That changed this year when RCB signed him at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore.
With Liam Livingstone failing to fire, Shepherd was drafted into the playing eleven. He did not set the stage on fire at the start, managing just one wicket in three games without getting a chance to bat,
But when the opportunity came to showcase his big-hitting prowess, he grabbed it with both hands.
True to the reputation of Caribbean big-hitters, Shepherd cleared the boundaries with ease. The hapless Khaleel bore the brunt as his first two deliveries were dispatched over midwicket and long-on for sixes.
Khaleel then bowled a no-ball, which Shepherd launched for yet another six. Though the free-hit wasn't capitalised on, the final ball of the over was top-edged over square leg for four, completing a massive 33-run over -- the most expensive of IPL 2025 so far.
The 33 runs conceded by Khaleel is the most runs conceded by a bowler in a single over this season.
Pathirana fared no better in the final over.
A slower bouncer was pulled for four, and another short ball was smashed through midwicket for another boundary.
Pitching it up proved costlier, as Shepherd launched one over the ropes before finishing the innings with a massive six over long-off to bring up his 14-ball fifty in sensational style.
CSK were caught unawares by this sudden burst from Shepherd and even the great tactician Mahendra Singh Dhoni looked bereft of any plans to stop the charge.
His power-hitting in the death overs isn't new. Shepherd has been one of the most destructive batters in T20 cricket in the past couple of years.
"In T20s since the start of 2023, he hit 53 sixes in 254 balls in the 19th and 20th over of the innings. Tim David, with 55, is the only batter who has hit more," said The CricViz Analyst in X.
"He hit 52 runs off 12 balls in that phase tonight, the most any batter has hit in any T20 match."
Shepherd also became only the third batter after Chris Gayle and Pat Cummins to score 30-plus runs in an over on two separate occasions in IPL history.
'I was waiting for a long time, finally got out to bat, wanted to give the team a good finish,' said 'man of the match' Shepherd.
His formula for explosive batting at the death is quite simple:: 'I wasn't thinking of a score, I was thinking ball by ball and try to hit each ball for four or six.'
Shepherd's breathtaking knock didn't just revive RCB's fortunes in the match, it may well have reignited his IPL career.
His smashing performance against CSK was a reminder of the sheer impact a power-hitter can make in T20 cricket. If this is a sign of things to come, RCB may have unearthed a genuine match-winner just in time for the business end of the IPL.
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