April 11 (Reuters) - Teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continued his stunning form in the Indian Premier League by smashing a 15-ball fifty to power Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday.
Chasing 202, the 15-year-old tore into the RCB attack with 78 off 26 balls, including eight fours and seven sixes, as Rajasthan reached the target with two overs to spare.
Sooryavanshi, who lit up his debut season with a 35-ball hundred last year, is just 11 matches into his IPL career and has already surged to the top of this season's run charts with 200 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 266.6.
He registered his second 15-ball fifty of the campaign, having achieved the feat against Chennai Super Kings previously.
"We just cannot believe how someone can hit like that. He is a great talent and we feel good that he is in our team," said wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel.
After dominating India spearhead Jasprit Bumrah earlier in the week, Sooryavanshi passed another stern test against Josh Hazlewood, thrashing the returning Australia quick for three fours and a six in the first fours balls he faced.
Sooryavanshi and Jurel set the tone with a rapid start, racing to 97-1 in the powerplay before spinner Krunal Pandya stalled the momentum.
Rajasthan slipped from 129-1 to 134-4 when Pandya dismissed Sooryavanshi, but Jurel anchored the chase with a composed unbeaten 81 from 43 balls.
"When you go in, and Vaibhav is smashing every ball, you tend to think nothing is happening on the wicket. Cricket is not as easy as he's playing," Jurel added.
The 108-run stand between Jurel and Sooryavanshi proved decisive, keeping Rajasthan unbeaten at the top of the table while RCB remain third.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
