NEW CHANDIGARH: Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi kept rewriting the boundaries of what’s possible in the IPL on Friday, delivering another electric innings in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026. The 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals opener cracked 96 off 47 balls versus Gujarat Titans at the venue, once again falling just short of the hundred in a knockout match.
Back-to-back near-centuries in knockout games
Sooryavanshi missed out on a century for the second consecutive knockout fixture. He had arrived at this game on the back of an even more dramatic performance, where he struck 97 off 29 deliveries against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator played at the same ground just two days earlier.
While the scoreboard never reached three figures, the innings still produced a string of standout milestones that underline how quickly the teenager is becoming one of the tournament’s defining forces.
Sooryavanshi’s 90s record: matching the best (and the unwanted)
During his latest knock, Sooryavanshi matched a long-standing IPL mark for dismissals in the 90s across a single season. Glenn Maxwell had set the benchmark 12 years ago, being dismissed three times in the 90s during his 2014 campaign. In IPL 2026, Sooryavanshi has now equalled that total, with the same number of dismissals in the 90s.
- 3 dismissals in the 90s in an IPL season: Glenn Maxwell (2014)
- 3 dismissals in the 90s in an IPL season: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026)
- 2 dismissals in the 90s in an IPL season: Mitchell Marsh (2026)
The achievement places him alongside another elite group of batters who have piled up the most scores in the 90s in IPL history. The current record stands at three, and it is shared by David Warner, KL Rahul, Glenn Maxwell, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Sooryavanshi.
- 3 scores in the 90s in IPL editions: David Warner
- 3 scores in the 90s in IPL editions: KL Rahul
- 3 scores in the 90s in IPL editions: Glenn Maxwell
- 3 scores in the 90s in IPL editions: Ruturaj Gaikwad
- 3 scores in the 90s in IPL editions: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
What makes the teenager’s run even more striking is that he already has a century in IPL 2026. With that context, his 96 becomes part of a remarkable pattern: he has now amassed four scores above 90 in a single IPL edition—an extraordinary tally for a player of his age.
Statistical oddities: a slow fifty, then relentless dominance
Sooryavanshi’s innings also featured a surprising statistical twist. Known for accelerating from the earliest overs, he recorded the “slowest” half-century of his IPL career in this match. His fifty came in 29 balls, which was slower than his previous slowest IPL fifty—also at this early stage—when he had reached the milestone off 27 deliveries against Chennai Super Kings earlier in the season.
The numbers reflect just how high the standards already are in IPL 2026 for the RR opener. This was also his eighth score of 50 runs or more in the season, and in five of his previous seven half-century attempts he had reached the mark in 17 balls or fewer.
More records fall: 1000 runs by balls, powerplay impact, and dismissal
Beyond the 90s milestones, Friday’s knock delivered another historic first. Sooryavanshi became the quickest batter in IPL history to complete 1000 runs when measured by balls faced. He reached the landmark in just 440 deliveries, smashing the previous record set by Andre Russell, who had taken 545 balls to get to 1000.
He has also been exceptionally dominant in the powerplay. His total of 521 runs in overs 1 to 6 is the highest ever by a batter in a single IPL edition, surpassing David Warner’s 467 runs from the 2016 season.
The innings eventually ended in the 18th over. Kagiso Rabada dismissed Sooryavanshi for 96. Trying an upper-cut over third man, the batter couldn’t find the timing he wanted and was caught by Prasidh Krishna near the boundary.
Even without converting another opportunity into a century, Sooryavanshi received a standing ovation after the knock. He finished with eight fours and seven sixes, and the innings again reinforced why he has quickly become the biggest story of IPL 2026.
At just 15 years old, Sooryavanshi is no longer only a prospect. His run of performances has already put him in the conversation alongside some of the most memorable batting seasons in IPL history.
