Vaibhav Suryavanshi's childhood coach, Brajesh Jha, was filled with joy and beamed with pride after the young teenager toppled several records with his rollicking display against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Monday night in Jaipur.
A new star was born during the Rajasthan Royals' (RR) pursuit of a 210-run target. Suryavanshi, a 14-year-old kid, left the world of cricket gobsmacked with his swashbuckling 101 and etched his name in the history books.
Hailing from Samastipur, Bihar, the young southpaw single-handedly broke the backbone of GT's defence of 209/4 and lifted Rajasthan's spirits by paving the way for their emphatic 8-wicket triumph.
'This is a matter of extreme joy...He has made everyone proud...The district is proud of its performance... He has made history...I, being his coach, am very proud of his performance...' Jha told ANI.
'Vaibhav ne hamare zilla aur academy ka naam roshan kiya,' he added.
Last year, Rajasthan Royals broke the bank and shelled out Rs 1.1 crore for a 13-year-old teenager. Suryavanshi's price tag grabbed the headlines, but the amount wasn't much of a surprise, considering his past exploits for Bihar in India's domestic circuit.
Fast forward to April, Suryavanshi broke the shackles, leaving GT's experienced bowling attack, boasting 694 international caps, in disarray. He went all guns blazing, put on an explosive 101(38) on show to entertain the spectators, and made Yashasvi Jaiswal take a backseat as Rajasthan put an end to its five-match losing streak in royal fashion.
'Aaj din mein bhi hum dono ke beech mein ek chota sa vaartalaap hua ki karna kya hai, usse paigaam kya bhejna hai. Bacchpan se hum uske saath kaam kiya hai toh laga ke aaj maargdarshan hona hai (We spoke this afternoon before the match, told him what he has to do)' Jha added.
A notable aspect of Suryavanshi's ability to muscle the ball away at such a young age is the technique he has adopted and nurtured. His bat travels a remarkable distance in a brief amount of time.
By the time he winds up, his bat is so high that his gloves are above his shoulder level behind him. By the time he completes his stroke, it is a full swing, usually in a circular motion and comes to rest above his other shoulder.
At 14 years and 32 days, Suryavanshi became the youngest player to score a century in T20 cricket, dethroning Vijay Zol, aged 18 years and 118 days, when he scored 109 against Mumbai in 2013.
After hitting the three-digit mark in a mere 35 deliveries, he became the second fastest to score a century in the IPL, behind 'Universal Boss' Chris Gayle's 30-ball hundred against Pune Warriors in 2013.
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