Romario Shepherd offered the Chinnaswamy Stadium a preview of his skills at Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s curtain-raiser ‘Unboxed’ event one week prior to the 2025 Indian Premier League. A six-hitting competition was one of the fun team activities: three balls each, the longest hit wins. Shepherd sent two of his three deliveries straight out of the ground, turning it into a no-contest.
He then bided his time.
Shepherd was merely a name in the dugout for the first seven games, demonstrating RCB’s big-hitting wealth but never their necessity. The middle-order position was occupied by Liam Livingstone. The final brief was given to Tim David. RCB switched when Livingstone’s form remained cold. Shepherd only swung in the nets, though, even at that point. When Shepherd eventually got his first innings of the season against CSK on Saturday, it seemed like the six-hitting match had never finished since the stakes were higher, the lights were brighter, and the swing was looser. Like a spring held too long, he uncoiled: all force, all tension, all relief.
Even the legendary Chris Gayle never achieved the second-fastest half-century in IPL history—a 14-ball half-century—though Bengaluru has seen its share of incredible achievements. David was joined by Shepherd as the RCB innings was faltering. On a stadium that is notoriously difficult to defend, the next seven overs delivered only 45 runs and four wickets, bringing the hosts down from a commanding 114 for 1 after 11 overs. Power in the ranks is crucial in these situations, and Shepherd had enough of it, ready to change the outcome at any time. Fourteen balls was more than enough for someone who hadn’t batted all season.
The short straw was drawn by Khaleel Ahmed. He was smashed over deep mid-wicket after his first short ball sat up. The pressure came immediately. Shepherd cleared his front leg to drill his next down the ground after pitching it up. For four over third man, an edge flew. Another six on the ground, another hit. Shepherd cut him over the backward point as Khaleel circled the stumps. Aside from one wide yorker, the damage was irreparable: a top edge over short fine leg made it 33 off the over, the most costly of the season, considering there were fewer fielders behind square.
After the match, he remarked, “I knew I had the bowler under pressure when I hit the first two.” “I thought, ‘Okay, let me attempt to put you under some more strain,’ after seeing his body language. And I kept on going, kept on going. Then I noticed him, rather perplexed as to whether to approach or avoid. I knew I had him, then. At that point, I simply kept moving forward.
“Timmy [Tim David] urged me to try and relax as soon as I went in, and I did just that. The ball was clinging in the wicket, so he advised me to just retain my shape a little. My instinct was to simply base up, observe the ball as it comes, and attempt to hit in my areas. Additionally, avoid trying to swing too early. Since I was just concerned with the ball at the moment, I took advantage of their partial plan execution.
The timestamps best reflected Shepherd’s impact: his first 13 balls were made in 14 frantic minutes. The sixth six was unavoidable even after MS Dhoni spent two extra minutes preparing the pitch for the final ball of the innings. The last two overs saw RCB score 54, the highest total in the history of the sport. In the final two overs, Shepherd’s T20 career strike-rate was an incredible 304.76, with 53* off 14. Bethell, the eighth RCB batsman to reach fifty this season, had already done it earlier that night, making him the ninth.
After the fifteenth over, no one has ever walked in with an IPL fifty. At 17.5, Shepherd arrived.
He didn’t loiter, though, like his innings. He ran off to prepare for bowling. David, who was no new to hitting power himself, moved slowly behind him, smacking his bat incredulously and shaking his head. Like everyone else on the other side.
India
