At 15, many players dream of rewriting IPL history. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi appears to be doing more than dreaming—he’s actively doing it. On Wednesday, the Rajasthan Royals star faced his first IPL knockout-pressure moment and responded exactly like he always does: take the game to the opposition with ruthless striking. He smashed 97 off 29 deliveries as RR posted 243/8 in 20 overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator, before SRH were restricted to 196 in 19.2 overs.
Key takeaways
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made 97 off 29 balls in RR’s Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
- Rajasthan Royals finished on 243/8 in 20 overs, while SRH fell short at 196 in 19.2 overs.
- Sooryavanshi narrowly missed the fastest IPL century, stopping at 97 after a near-miss by one delivery.
- His six-hitting run helped him surpass Chris Gayle’s record for the most maximums in an IPL edition.
- Pat Cummins said SRH had limited options against him, citing the small margins on the pitch.
Sooryavanshi thrives in knockout conditions
During the match, IPL organisers dubbed him “Universe baby boss,” a nickname that quickly caught on and went viral. For SRH captain Pat Cummins—who has also captained Australia to an Ashes triumph—the reality of facing Sooryavanshi proved straightforward: there weren’t many workable plans.
Cummins acknowledged Sooryavanshi’s quality in the chase of wickets and runs alike, saying the pitch offered tight margins and that even a slight miss, especially with yorkers, didn’t guarantee success. He added that if you’re off by a little, Sooryavanshi tends not to spare the opportunity, and offered credit to the batter after the result.
On the chase, Cummins explained that reaching 240 would still have required several things to go right. He felt the team stayed close to the required run rate for much of the innings, but believed they lost too many wickets at the wrong stages, turning the task into an uphill battle—even though, in his view, the pitch and the setup were the kind that could have made the chase possible.
Records, near-misses and a six-hitting milestone
Sooryavanshi, in his second season of the IPL, came close to registering the fastest century in the league’s history. In the Eliminator clash at this venue, the 15-year-old reached 97 off 28 balls, just one stroke away from triple figures. However, the very next ball brought a breakthrough attempt that didn’t quite deliver the landmark: he played an upper cut off a short delivery from Praful Hinge, and the ball was caught by R Smaran at deep third man. He ended the innings with 97 off 29 balls, including 12 sixes and five fours.
The fastest IPL century record is held by Chris Gayle, who reached 175 off 66 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Pune Warriors in IPL 2013, finishing that century in 30 deliveries. Coming into this match, Sooryavanshi was six maximums behind Gayle’s mark, with Gayle having hit 59 sixes in the 2012 edition. Sooryavanshi’s six-hitting tally over the ropes then took him past Gayle’s benchmark, as he accumulated 65 sixes in IPL 2026.
Importantly, his 65 maximums were also comfortably ahead of the tournament’s next best total, with Abhishek Sharma sitting second on 43 sixes. Sooryavanshi’s rise has been rapid: he previously produced the second-fastest IPL century, scoring 101 off 38 balls for RR against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025, striking 11 sixes and seven fours.
He also owns the third-fastest IPL ton, reaching 103 off 36 balls against SRH earlier in the campaign. In that knock, the left-handed opener struck 12 sixes and five fours, underlining how consistently he has been able to convert timing into boundaries — and boundaries into milestones.
