Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has broken Chris Gayle's long-standing record for the most sixes hit in a single IPL season. The 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals opening batter achieved this monumental feat during the ongoing IPL 2026 Eliminator match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Entering the high-stakes playoff match, Sooryavanshi needed to overtake the iconic milestone set by "The Universe Boss". He blasted his 60th and 61st sixes of the tournament, completely clearing the boundary and officially pushing Chris Gayle down the leaderboard. Chris Gayle’s legendary 2012 record of 59 sixes stood completely untouched for 14 years. Power-hitters like Andre Russell and Jos Buttler came close but fell short. Gayle required roughly 450 balls to hit his 59 maximums. Sooryavanshi obliterated the record in fewer than 300 balls faced across the tournament.

Entering the Eliminator match on 53 sixes, he launched 7 maximums in the first 4 overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad, blasting past Gayle with his 60th and 61st sixes of the season. Opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals, Sooryavanshi targeted the powerplay bowling with ruthless aggression. He dismantled Australian captain Pat Cummins, hitting him for three consecutive sixes in a single over. He reached his half-century in just 16 balls, establishing it as one of the fastest playoff fifties in history. He was eventually dismissed agonizingly close to a century, scoring 97 runs off just 29 balls at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 334.48.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi dismissed for agonizing 97 off 28 balls, fails to score fastest century in IPL

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dismissed for 97 runs off 29 balls in today's high-stakes IPL 2026 Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The 15-year-old batting sensation walked back to the dugout in absolute disbelief, leaving the stadium stunned after one of the most violent playoff cameos in cricket history. After being absolutely shredded for boundaries, Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler Praful Hinge executed a tactical comeback in the 8th over. Hinge banged a quick, short delivery wide outside the off-stump to deliberately deny the left-hander any straight boundary elevation. Sitting on 97 runs off 28 balls, Sooryavanshi threw his hands at the ball, attempting an aggressive uppercut over the ropes to secure both his century and a historic record.

The ball caught the outer half of his bat blade, slicing high into the air. Fielder Smaran Ravichandran sprinted hard off the deep-third boundary rope and made a spectacular diving catch to seal the dismissal. By getting caught out at 97, Sooryavanshi missed breaking Chris Gayle's ultimate crown jewel record: the fastest century in IPL history (30 balls). Had the teenager connected with just one more boundary on that 29th delivery, he would have rewritten the fastest-ton record at a blistering 29 balls. Instead, he walked back to a massive standing ovation, visibly gutted to fall right on the doorstep of triple figures. His departure left the Royals sitting in a commanding position at 125/1 after exactly 8 overs.