7 sixes, 8 fours, 15-ball fifty! Vaibhav Suryavanshi shows no respect to IPL champions RCB

'A rare moment of Vaibhav Suryavanshi respecting bowlers' was a comment on a widely circulated video of the supremely talented teenage batter touching the feet of veteran Ashish Nehra. That witty remark makes perfect sense each time the 15-year-old bats in IPL 2026.

On Friday, the Rajasthan Royals opener showed no respect to the acclaimed bowlers of the champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He smashed 7 sixes and 8 boundaries in a 26-ball 78. Suryavanshi reached his fifty in just 15 balls with a six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Phil Salt caught the lofty shot, but the momentum made him stumble over the rope, signalling a maximum. Suryavanshi had hit a 15-ball fifty against Chennai Super Kings in RR's season opener.

Bhuvi had bowled a tidy opening over, giving away just a pair of boundaries and delivered four dot balls to Suryavanshi. The two-time IPL purple cap winner was brought back to rein in Suryavanshi, but the boy from Bihar smashed two sixes and a boundary. That was the fifth over of the innings, at the end of which RR were 73/1, chasing a target of 202.

In the previous over, Suryavanshi bludgeoned Josh Hazlewood. The Australian pace ace had removed Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) in his first over that fetched 12 runs, but Suryavanshi treated him to a 4, 4, 4 and 6 in successive deliveries.

Suryavanshi had also been harsh to Abhinandan Singh, hitting two fours and a six. He also hit Tim David for a couple of sixes and hit 12 off Krunal Pandya's first over. But the experienced spinner removed the ruthless left-hander in the first ball of the ninth over with Virat Kohli lunging to take a catch in the deep. Suryavanshi had hit a first-ball six against Mumbai Indians' superstar pacer Jasprit Bumrah earlier this week.

RR won the match by 6 wickets, with Dhruv Jurel top-scoring 81 off 43. Earlier, Rajat Patidar made 63 off 40 as RCB posted 201/8 in 20 overs after a delayed start due to rain. RR remain top of the table with four wins in four.