Viabhav Suryavanshi headlined Rajasthan Royals’ fourth straight win at the IPL on Friday. It was indeed a show of exceptional hitting by the prodigy.

But, when he was dismissed after making that stunning 26-ball 78, the host still needed 79 to beat the defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Plenty of overs were left, but somebody still had to do the job. A mini collapse – three wickets for five runs – didn’t help, but Dhruv Jurel with a perfectly paced 81 not out (43b) took the Royals past RCB’s 201 for eight with a couple of overs to spare.

It wasn’t as breathtaking a knock like Suryavanshi’s, but it made the dugout breathe easy. After all, in T20 cricket, you don’t need much time to see your advantage slipping away.

The innings proved once more that RR team management’s decision to make him at No. 3 was the right one. He hade scored 75 in that slot against Gujarat Titans.

Jurel’s sensible, assured batting is what Royals needs to follow up the swashbuckling opening duo of Suryavanshi and Jaiswal. He has the technique and temperament for the job, and he can shift gears when required.

He said the inning was one of his best in T20 cricket – the highest, too – but gave his second-wicket partner a lot of credit. “Suryavanshi made the chase easy,” the wicketkeeper said. “When he got out, we needed only about 6.5 runs an over. My job was to get it done. We wanted to finish in the 18th or 19th over and that is what we did.”

Published on Apr 11, 2026