There was a bit of surprise when Angkrish Raghuvanshi walked in at No.3 following a fabulous start by Sunil Narine and Phil Salt on Wednesday. But within minutes the 18-year-old silenced the full house in Visakhapatnam with his selection of shots.

The Delhi-born Raghuvanshi, who made his IPL debut against Royal Challengers Bengaluru as an impact player but didn't get to bat, played a blistering innings against Delhi Capitals when he scored 54 off 27 balls including five fours and three sixes.

His 104-run partnership with Sunil Narine took the match away from the Capitals, thus paving the way for Kolkata Knight Riders' third win on the trot. A reverse swatted six over fine third man off Rasikh Salam was the highlight of his innings.

Raghuvanshi left Gurgaon at the age of 11 and moved to Mumbai to pursue his dreams of becoming a cricketer. The opener's 278 runs were the team's highest in the 2022 U-19 World Cup as India emerged champions under Yash Dhull's captaincy.

The youngster made his List A and T20 debut for Mumbai in 2023. He had an excellent CK Nayudu Trophy with 765 runs in nine matches.

The returns in the domestic white-ball tournaments prompted KKR to go for him at the auction, where Abhishek Nayar his childhood coach, is a member of the support staff.

“I thank coach Abhishek Nayar, my teammates and support staff for teaching me so much. I dedicate my innings to them. Abhishek has coached me since childhood, pushing me to master shots like the reverse sweep through extensive practice,” said Angkrish.

"He has helped me in everything, the way I think about the game, the way I work towards the game, the things I eat, the way I train, he is basically my guru and everything. That's my relationship with him," Raghuvanshi said at his post-match news conference.

It is that training which helped Raghuvanshi on Wednesday. "It was pretty simple, the way I have been practising the past few weeks, the past few years with my coach Abhishek Nayar...the way he has made me practice, I didn't really have to think too much when I went out to bat.

"I just batted with my instincts and I just trusted that. What I did during practice was enough, the way he has made me practice.. he has made me face tough circumstances during practice," he said.

"It was fun, (the ball) came on to the bat pretty nicely. I think the way we have been practising for the past few weeks helped."