Rajasthan Royals’ teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again lit up IPL 2026 with a breathtaking knock in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but the 15-year-old revealed after the match that he was completely unaware he had come close to creating another historic record.
Sooryavanshi smashed a sensational 97 off just 29 balls, hammering 12 sixes and five boundaries at a staggering strike rate of 334.48 as Rajasthan Royals defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs to book a Qualifier 2 clash against Gujarat Titans.
The youngster fell just 3 runs short of what would have been the fastest century in IPL history, but admitted his attention was never on personal milestones during the chase.
“I got to know after the game,” he said at the post-match presentation when asked about missing the record for the fastest IPL hundred.
“My focus was on hitting a six. I will score centuries in future, but the focus was on getting maximum runs for the team. I just work on my plan and if there are any shortcomings, I try to work on them.”
The innings added yet another chapter to Sooryavanshi’s extraordinary IPL season. During his explosive stay at the crease, he also surpassed Chris Gayle’s long-standing record for the most sixes in a single IPL season, taking his tally to 65 maximums.
Reflecting on his preparation and batting philosophy, the Rajasthan Royals opener explained how he keeps things simple and focuses on reading conditions rather than overthinking situations.
On his preparation for the game, he said, “I try to just analyse how to face the bowlers, judge the length of the boundaries. When I am showing good intent, the bowler is under pressure.”
