At just 15, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has already started writing his own standards for IPL greatness—and Tuesday night in Jaipur offered a reminder that even prodigies can be tested right at the beginning. Playing at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, he endured a start that looked nothing like the dominance expected from him. In the chase, he crawled to 11 runs off 12 balls at one stage, before gradually finding rhythm. From there, the breakthrough came in a hurry: he converted that groundwork into a 23-ball fifty, which still stood out as the slowest half-century of his IPL career so far. Yet once he got going, the innings turned into something close to chaos, especially at a venue where he had already registered both of his previous IPL hundreds. A third century seemed destined, but it wasn’t to be—Sooryavanshi was finally dismissed agonisingly short on 93.
What made the early phase even more striking was the context of the chase. When Rajasthan Royals crossed the 50-run mark in only 26 balls while targeting 221 at home, the momentum was driven largely by Yashasvi Jaiswal. He struck 38 runs from 18 deliveries, taking Mohsin Khan and Akash Singh apart in the process. During that burst, Sooryavanshi looked out of sorts, waiting six balls before he found his first boundary and scoring at well under a run-a-ball, with just five runs from his opening eight balls.
The turning point arrived late in the fifth over. On the penultimate ball of that over, he finally broke free, leaning back and launching a fuller delivery outside off for a six that cleared deep extra-cover. That momentum carried into the powerplay’s final over, when Prince Yadav—fresh from an India call-up earlier in the day—became the next victim. Sooryavanshi hammered a six and followed it with two more fours in the over, helping Rajasthan quickly get back on track with 25 runs coming off 16 balls.
Those boundaries weren’t just about acceleration—they also marked a milestone. By reaching the required runs through that stretch, Sooryavanshi completed 500 runs in the season, becoming the youngest batter to do so in IPL history. In doing that, he surpassed Rishabh Pant’s previous mark set in 2018. After that surge, the innings briefly paused: Sooryavanshi didn’t face another ball for the next two overs, a window in which Jaiswal fell just short of his fifty. But Rajasthan sensed the door was open, and the next phase belonged entirely to Sooryavanshi.
From the next 25 deliveries he faced, he unleashed a barrage—four boundaries and eight sixes in total, collecting 64 runs. The effect was immediate: the teenager raced from his fifty toward what looked like another century, and the brutality of his hitting even drew raving reactions from Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary box. His devastation included a 26-run over against Akash Singh and a 29-run over against Mayank Yadav, both of which underscored how quickly he could change the tempo with sheer power and timing.
Eventually, the innings ended the way the best ones do—against a ball that was just a little too difficult. After being named in the India A squad for the upcoming tri-series following the IPL season, Sooryavanshi was undone by a slower bouncer from Mohsin Khan. His stunning knock finished at 93 off 38 balls, cutting short the century he was so close to.
Even so, the dismissal didn’t mute the atmosphere in Jaipur. As he walked back to the pavilion, the home crowd rose to their feet, and so did his Rajasthan Royals teammates. Rivalry stayed at the edge of the moment as well: LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka and head coach Justin Langer offered applause, putting the contest aside to recognise a performance that had already begun to look historic.
