Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 15, Breaks Chris Gayle’s 14-Year-Old IPL Record

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set a new uncapped player run-scoring record in an IPL season, having smashed 680 runs across 15 matches so far.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 15, Breaks Chris Gayle’s 14-Year-Old IPL Record

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi broke Chris Gayle's record for most sixes in a single IPL season. (via Al Jazeera)

In Short
  • Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 97 runs off 29 balls, breaking Chris Gayle’s 14-year-old IPL record for most sixes in a season.
  • He hit 12 sixes during the match, bringing his total to 65 sixes in IPL 2026, surpassing Gayle's previous record of 59.
  • Chris Gayle praised Sooryavanshi as the 'new six machine' after his explosive performance in the IPL Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The 2026 IPL Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad witnessed one of the most explosive individual batting performances by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old blasted 97 runs off 29 balls, while going past Chris Gayle’s decade-old IPL record. 

Sooryavanshi’s POTM display helped RR triumph over SRH, as the Men in Pink advanced to Qualifier 2 of the playoffs. Batting first, the Royals got off to a blistering start, thanks to a 125-run stand between openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

While Jaiswal scored 29, his younger counterpart unleashed an assault, as he hit 12 maximums and 5 boundaries on his way to a majestic 97 runs off just 29 deliveries, at an unbelievable strike-rate of 334.48.

The highlight of the 15-year-old’s innings was the three consecutive sixes that he hit off SRH skipper Pat Cummins, in the 3rd over. Apart from Sooryavanshi’s innings, Dhruv Jurel scored a 50 off 21 balls, while Riyan Parag contributed with 26 runs off 12 balls, to take the team to a massive 243/8. It proved enough, as SRH fell agonizingly short of the target by 47 runs, getting bowled out for 196 runs in 19.2 overs. 

Coming back to Sooryavanshi’s destructive knock, the left-hander, in the 8th over, looked all set to break Chris Gayle’s fastest IPL hundred record off 30 balls. He had already plundered 29 runs off Praful Hinge‘s over, and was three runs away from his third IPL hundred, but lost his wicket. It was, however, not before the 15-year-old left a trail of broken records to his name. The innings saw him surpass Gayle’s 14-year-old record of 59 sixes in a single IPL season, set in 2012. 

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took his overall tally to 65 maximums, the most by any batter during a single IPL campaign. While the West Indies’ icon required 456 deliveries to hit 59 sixes, the teenager shattered the record after facing just 266 balls, averaging a six every 4.3 deliveries.

Furthermore, the teenager’s innings set an all-time record for the most maximums in an IPL knockout match, as his 12 sixes surpassed the 10 sixes hit by Shubman Gill against the Mumbai Indians in 2023.

The left-hander has demonstrated a tendency to equal the achievements of cricket legends, now tying Suresh Raina for the quickest half-century ever scored in the playoffs. Sooryavanshi scored a 50 off just 16 balls, matching the CSK icon’s 2014 knock against Punjab Kings.

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Chris Gayle hails Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s IPL eliminator heroics, calls him the ‘new six machine’

The legendary Chris Gayle, known for the ‘six machine’ tag, has seemingly identified a successor to his T20 power-hitting legacy. The 46-year-old publicly commended RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, even bestowing upon him the title of the ‘new six machine’.

Chris Gayle on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Chris Gayle called Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the new ‘six-hitting machine’. (via X)

Gayle’s praise for the 15-year-old came after the young batter smashed his way past the Jamaican’s six-hitting record in the IPL, during RR’s Eliminator clash against SRH. He smashed 12 sixes and went on to score 97 runs off just 29 balls at a strike rate of 334.48, leaving fans stunned. Sooryavanshi has now hit 65 sixes this season, which is 22 more than the second-highest six-hitter, Abhishek Sharma. 

Gayle was deeply impressed by the teenager’s extraordinary performance against SRH. The retired batter took to social media to share his reactions, calling Sooryavanshi a ‘phenomenal’ player who has been entertaining fans. The Bihar-born prodigy has now struck 89 sixes in his IPL career so far, which is, in fact, more than the likes of stars like David Miller (82), Travis Head (78), and Shaun Marsh (78).

He could be on his way to breaching the all-time IPL sixes record in the coming years. The historic record comfortably belongs to Gayle, who hit an impressive 357 maximums in 142 matches, while amassing 4,965 runs with 404 boundaries as well.

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