Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lit up an IPL knockout with an innings that looked destined to become the stuff of legend. Wearing the Rajasthan Royals jersey in the IPL 2026 Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Mullanpur, he powered a devastating 97 off just 29 balls—only three runs shy of a historic hundred. What followed was just as striking: the teenager’s visible heartbreak after missing out on the milestone showed how much the moment meant to him.
At a glance
- Player: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Rajasthan Royals)
- Match: IPL 2026 Eliminator vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
- Venue: Mullanpur
- Score: 97 off 29 balls
- Boundary count: 12 sixes
- Fastest IPL century record (overall): Chris Gayle’s 30-ball hundred in 2013
- Sooryavanshi’s IPL season sixes record: 65 (2026)
- Sooryavanshi’s fastest IPL century by an Indian: 35 balls
- Fastest fifty in IPL playoffs (equalling): Suresh Raina’s mark in 16 balls
Sooryavanshi’s knock was a straight-line statement to the SRH bowling unit. He tore through the attack with 12 maximums and moved into the rarefied air occupied by IPL’s fastest century makers. The match context mattered—this was a knockout—yet his approach stayed fearless, as if the only target on his mind was reaching three figures in a blink.
The reason his dismissal hit so hard is simple: a breakthrough right here would have rewritten another landmark. Chris Gayle’s celebrated 30-ball century for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2013 still stands as the quickest hundred in IPL history. Sooryavanshi, though, came so close to passing it, getting out on 97 and leaving the fastest-century chase just short of completion.
Even without that final push, the teenager’s season resume already looked extraordinary. Earlier in IPL 2026, he had established the pace-setting feat of the fastest IPL century by an Indian batter—finishing his first hundred in 35 balls. He also owns the next two fastest IPL hundreds by an Indian, reaching the milestone in 35 and 36 deliveries during his remarkable run, further underlining how unusual his timing and acceleration have been.
But the celebration never fully arrived. As he returned to the dressing room, the disappointment was plainly visible, with broadcast cameras capturing signs of tears. It was a rare emotional moment in an innings dominated by clean striking and relentless control—proof that even when records are on the table, the heart still wants the one thing that slipped away.
Record barrage in IPL 2026
Sooryavanshi’s 97 did more than threaten one record; it helped him climb into multiple unprecedented IPL standings during his IPL 2026 campaign. He surpassed Chris Gayle’s 14-year-old benchmark of 59 sixes from the 2012 season, and now holds the record for the most sixes in a single IPL season with 65.
Most sixes in an IPL season now reads: 65* by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026), taking the top spot over 59 by Chris Gayle (2012). The numbers reflect a batter who didn’t just score—he consistently finished balls with maximum impact.
His season impact extended beyond boundaries as well. Sooryavanshi became the first teenager ever to reach 600 runs in a T20 tournament before turning 20, and in IPL terms he also holds the record for the most runs by an uncapped batter in a single season. In IPL 2026, that figure stands at 680* for Sooryavanshi, with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 625 (RR, 2023) listed next.
There was also a brilliant playoff pace benchmark to his name during the knock. Sooryavanshi matched Suresh Raina’s long-standing mark for the quickest fifty in IPL playoff history, reaching the fifty in just 16 balls. It reinforced that his big-hitting wasn’t only about the middle overs—it was about arriving at momentum at speed, in the highest-pressure games.
With 97 in the Eliminator, he also climbed to the second-highest individual score by a Rajasthan Royals batter in an IPL playoff match. The only higher RR playoff score belongs to Jos Buttler, whose unbeaten 106 came against RCB in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2022.
Sooryavanshi’s innings will be remembered for the record chase and the sheer brutality of the strike. Yet the lasting image for many fans may not be the sixes that lifted the stadium energy—it may be the 15-year-old walking off devastated, having come painfully close to turning what could have been one of the greatest IPL hundreds into an even bigger piece of history.
