Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a 15-year-old batting prodigy, once again lit up the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) stage with an incredible performance as he blasted away to a fifty off 15 balls. The Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets to begin their IPL 2026 season.

After limiting CSK for 127 runs, RR made short work of the chase. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hammered 52 in 17 balls with 4 fours and 5 sixes to his name. His knock enabled RR to achieve the target with 7.5 overs to spare, giving a huge boost to their net run rate.

Sooryavanshi took the attack to CSK bowlers like Matt Henry and Noor Ahmad and ensured CSK didn’t even have a chance to defend the total.

Following the contest, supporters were drawn to a lighthearted scene. A video surfaced after the match showing Sooryavanshi having a jovial conversation with teammate Dhruv Jurel while boarding the team bus.

Jurel praised the youngster, saying, "Well played, youngster; once again, very well played."

With a smile, Sooryavanshi revealed the lighthearted ‘secret’ behind his performance, saying, "Aaj Rajbhog mithai kha ke gaya tha match mein. (Ate Rajbhog mithai—a kind of sweet dish—before the match.)

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Asked about his approach with the bat, Sooryavanshi said, “I do think about defense, but today our plan was to control the game in the powerplay because in a small chase, that phase is crucial — if the bowling team does well there, the game can tilt their way, but our powerplay went really well."

“The coaches didn’t specifically say that bowlers would attack me — everyone else was already saying that — but they just told me that they back me and that I should stick to my natural game and play according to the situation,” he added.

RR will next face GT in Ahmedabad on April 4.