Vaibhav Suryavanshi struck a 15-ball half-century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an IPL 2026 match. | Photo Credit: PTI

If Jasprit Bumrah gets it, can Josh Hazlewood be far behind?

Hazlewood, on his return from injury, got a taste of wunderkind Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s fearless batting in the royal IPL match on a slightly damp Friday night. The Aussie quick, who has 516 wickets in international cricket, went for 4,4,4,6: those were the first balls he bowled to the left-handed prodigy.

He had hit Bumrah’s first ball for a six in the last match at this very venue. If this is what he could do to Hazlewood and Bumrah, imagine what the lesser bowlers might be thinking of at the prospect of bowling to him.

Suryavanshi’s stunning 78 off just 26 balls (8x4, 7x6) in front of a full house at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium ensured Rajasthan Royals’ dream start continued. The six-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bengaluru was RR’s fourth on the trot. And it was RCB’s first defeat after two wins in a row: its 201 for eight was chased down by the Royals with two overs to spare.

Also read | Suryavanshi scores 15-ball fifty against RCB

Though Survyavanshi’s dismissal triggered a collapse, his second-wicket partner Dhruv Jurel (81 not out, 43b, 8x4, 3x6) got the host home with a brilliant knock. The Royals had lost three wickets for an addition of five runs, but the wicketkeeper found a perfect ally in Ravindra Jadeja ((24 not out, 25b, 1x4). They added 68 for the unfinished fifth wicket

Jurel was content to be a spectator while Suryavanshi was putting on yet another dazzling display of batsmanship – his contribution was just three when the second-wicket partnership reached 50 – but he paced his innings perfectly to ace the chase. He must have enjoyed watching the teenager unleash all those audacious strokes with his timing, power and bat-speed.

Earlier, it was a captain’s innings from Rajat Patidar (63, 40b, 4x4, 4x6) that gave RCB a competitive score. Jofra Archer got the first ball of the match to climb into Phil Salt, who ballooned a catch behind the stumps.

Then the Purple Cap holder Ravi Bishnoi bowled Virat Kohli (32, 16b, 7x4) through the gate. Cameos from Romario Shepherd and Ventakesh Iyer helped, but the night was going to be Suryavanshi’s.

Published on Apr 11, 2026