With Rajasthan Royals put into bat first in a high-stakes knockout game, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi delivered a record-breaking knock to fire his team into the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 with a commanding 47-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at New Chandigarh.
Opening the batting against an SRH attack led by Pat Cummins, Sooryavanshi tore into the bowling from the outset. The teenager smashed 97 runs off just 29 deliveries at a staggering strike rate of 334.48, powering Rajasthan Royals to 243/8.
The innings was built almost entirely on boundary-hitting. Out of his 97 runs, 92 came through boundaries, with Sooryavanshi hammering five fours and 12 sixes in a display of sustained power-hitting. He also brought up his half-century in only 16 balls, equalling the fastest fifty in IPL playoff history set by Suresh Raina in 2014.
Though he fell agonisingly short of a century after being caught at deep third man, the knock had already altered the course of the contest. Sunrisers Hyderabad never fully recovered from the early assault as Rajasthan Royals maintained control through the evening.
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The innings also rewrote several IPL and T20 records in a single night.
Sooryavanshi overtook Chris Gayle's long-standing record for the most sixes in a single IPL season. Gayle had struck 59 maximums during his iconic 2012 campaign, while the Rajasthan Royals opener has now raced to 65 sixes in IPL 2026.
He also became the highest-scoring uncapped player in a single IPL season, moving to 680 runs and surpassing Yashasvi Jaiswal's previous mark of 626 runs from 2023.
Inside the Powerplay, the teenager has been unmatched this season. His tally of 490 Powerplay runs is now the highest in a single IPL edition, eclipsing David Warner's 467 from 2016. During the Eliminator itself, he cleared the ropes eight times in the first six overs, the most by any batter in an IPL Powerplay innings.
His 12 sixes against Sunrisers Hyderabad also set a new playoff benchmark, overtaking Shubman Gill's previous IPL playoff record of 10 sixes.
During his monster innings, Sooryavanshi also became the first player in IPL history to register three separate innings featuring 10 or more sixes in a single campaign. He also equalled Chris Gayle's all-time IPL record of four innings with 10-plus sixes.
Statistically, the knock now sits among the most destructive innings the league has witnessed. His strike rate of 334.48 is the second-highest in IPL history for any score above 70, behind only Suresh Raina's 87 off 25 balls against Kings XI Punjab in 2014.
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The sheer scale of the innings left the cricketing world stunned, with former players, commentators and modern-day stars flooding social media and broadcasts with praise for the teenager's fearless batting.
Leading the praise was the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who described the knock as “Nothing short of spectacular”.
Meanwhile, former England captain Michael Vaughan called for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's immediate inclusion in India's T20 setup, describing the teenager as “the best T20 opener in the World” after his blistering Eliminator knock.
He is the best T20 opener in the World .. India have to pick him … https://t.co/7BWRv1X5lL
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) May 27, 2026
Suresh Raina called the Rajasthan Royals opener a “prodigy” while claiming that “Indian future is in safe hands”.
Dictionary doesn't have enough words to describe what Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has done in this tournament. What a player, what a prodigy. The fact that people are actually waiting to watch him bat proves that Indian future is in safe hands #vaibhavsurvanshi
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) May 27, 2026
Kevin Pietersen described the teenager as “an absolute joke”
Sooryavanshi is an absolute joke! My goodness.
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) May 27, 2026
That six over cover 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
While Ian Bishop highlighted the quality of Sooryavanshi's strokeplay in his first IPL playoff appearance.
Very special again from Vaibav Sooryavanshi. 97(29) in his first ever IPL playoff match. It's also the rare quality of his strokes.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) May 27, 2026
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