Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi delivered another remarkable display as his blistering 97 off just 29 balls powered Rajasthan Royals to victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL eliminator.
The 15-year-old smashed 12 sixes, including three consecutive maximums off Australia captain Pat Cummins, before falling in the eighth over.
Having struck boundaries off seven straight deliveries, Sooryavanshi came within one shot of breaking Chris Gayle’s record for the fastest IPL century, but was caught at deep third while attempting an upper cut.
He raced to a 16-ball half-century and left the crowd stunned, earning a standing ovation despite visibly disappointed at missing out on a hundred.
At the time of his dismissal, Rajasthan Royals were cruising at 125-1 after eight overs, with opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal unbeaten on 25 from 20 balls.
“What an innings. What a player,” said India great Sunil Gavaskar on commentary.
“That is an innings to remember. An innings to savour.”
The knock also lifted Sooryavanshi to the top of the IPL run-scoring charts this season.
His seventh six — struck in just the fourth over — saw him surpass Chris Gayle’s long-standing record of 59 sixes in a single IPL campaign.
“The margins are so small,” Cummins said afterwards.
“You miss your yorker by a little bit and he doesn’t tend to miss them. Fair play.”
