IPL 2026 really got one crazy moment on May 27,with 13-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi doing something which honestly sounds almost unreal . A teenager walking into Eliminator match pressure and smashing Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers like this is not normal thing ah .
Representing Rajasthan Royals at New Chandigarh,the young left-hander scored 97 runs off just 28 deliveries . Not 40-ball 97,not some slow build-up . He went after bowling from start and suddenly SRH captain Pat Cummins looked like he had no safe place to hide fielders during powerplay overs.
And tbh,that 16-ball half-century was main shocker . Sooryavanshi reached 50 in just 16 balls,matching Suresh Raina’s record for fastest fifty in an IPL playoff . For 13-year-old to be in same sentence as Suresh Raina in playoff record list is wild.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was playing more subdued supporting role from other end,but Sooryavanshi clearly decided he will take charge . He went after Eshan Malinga and Sakib Hussain like pressure did not exist only.
Few things standing out from this innings:
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 97 runs off just 28 deliveries and reached 50 in 16 balls.
- Rajasthan Royals finished with 243 for 8,helped by Dhruv Jurel’s quickfire 50.
- Sooryavanshi surpassed Chris Gayle for the most sixes in a single T20 tournament.
After getting Orange Cap for this explosive knock,Sooryavanshi said,"My coaches told me to play freely and enjoy the game," . Simple line,but it says lot about mindset also . No overthinking,no fear,just go out and hit.
Still,there was small heartbreak too . He fell three runs short of century after top-edging a shot off Praful Hinge . But from what he later explained,it was not nerves or panic,it was intentional shot choice as per team strategy.
And Rajasthan Royals did not slow down after that . Dhruv Jurel came in and smashed a 20-ball 50 with scoops and straight drives,keeping innings moving hard . Nitish Kumar Reddy and Abhishek Sharma did pull things back slightly for SRH in death overs,but damage was already done by then.
With RR reaching 243,the whole pressure shifted to Sunrisers Hyderabad batting lineup in this do-or-die clash . But bigger story rn is this 13-year-old kid suddenly looking like future superstar,while everyone else is left wondering how far this can actually go…
