Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again set the IPL alight, smashing a sensational century off just 36 deliveries in their IPL 2026 showdown against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. The 15-year-old left-hander produced a performance that quickly became the talking point of the evening, edging out the attention-grabbing impact of Abhishek Sharma, who was on the opposing side and also delivered a rapid fifty of his own. Moments after the match, Sooryavanshi and Abhishek were spotted sharing an embrace during the post-game courtesies, and the picture of the two together spread rapidly across social media. Fans, clearly thrilled, began discussing the potential for both to open for India in the future, with one user writing on X that they could become “future opening partners” for Team India. Another comment predicted that the pair would be the “most destructive opening” combination and suggested they could even reach 300 in an international T20, while a third fan added that two left-handed openers like them would show “zero mercy” to any bowler, regardless of reputation.
Sooryavanshi’s innings and Abhishek’s quickfire contribution naturally intensified the debate about India’s next opening options. Abhishek Sharma is currently ranked as the No. 1 T20I batter in the world, and he also played a role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph in 2026. Still, many supporters and cricket observers have argued that the time has come to consider bringing the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi into senior contention, given how consistently he has looked ready for the biggest stages.
In the match itself, Sooryavanshi stole the show with a knock of 103 off 37 balls as RR were sent in first by SRH. Rajasthan made 228/6 in their 20 overs, posting a total that looked challenging on paper and even more so once the innings began to accelerate. But Sunrisers Hyderabad chased it down in ruthless fashion. Abhishek Sharma struck 57 off 29 and Ishan Kishan added 74 off 31 as the duo stitched together a 132-run partnership in under ten overs, taking the chase well beyond any sense of a contest. After both batters were dismissed, Nitish Reddy continued the momentum with a blazing 36 off 18, helping SRH reach their target with nine balls remaining.
The chase propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad to 10 points in the IPL 2026 standings, lifting them above Rajasthan Royals in the points table.
