During the 2026 eliminator, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi delivered one of the greatest batting exhibitions in the history of IPL, smashing records at a staggering rate while dismantling Sunrisers Hyderabad with a jaw-dropping 97 off just 29 balls. During his explosive innings, Sooryavanshi hammered 12 sixes, repeatedly sending the ball deep into the stands as bowlers of SRH ran out of answers. Cummins himself surrendering four sixes to the 15-year-old and finished with forgettable figures of 0 for 64 in four overs.
Breaking of Chris Gayle’s all-time record for the fastest IPL century missed by the RR opener after falling on 97, just one hit away from surpassing Gayle’s iconic 30-ball century from 2013.
Sooryavanshi rewrote many IPL records even without the century during the innings – including one of Gayle’s most iconic milestones. Sooryavanshi surpassed Gayle’s 14- year-old record for the most sixes in a single IPL season and now sits alone at the top with 65 maximums.
Most sixes in an IPL season:
- 65* – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026)
- 59 – Chris Gayle (2012)
- 52 – Andre Russell (2019)
For the most powerplay runs ever scored in a single IPL season record now also holds by him, overtaking David Warner’s long-standing mark from 2016.
Most Powerplay runs in an IPL season:
490 – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026)*
467 – David Warner (2016)
402 – Travis Head (2024)
During the Eliminator, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed eight sixes inside the powerplay which is the most ever in the first six overs of an IPL innings.
Most sixes in overs 1-6 in an IPL innings:
8 – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs SRH, 2026 Eliminator
7 – Sanath Jayasuriya vs CSK, 2008
7 – Jos Buttler vs DC, 2018
7 – Jonny Bairstow vs RCB, 2022
7 – Abhishek Sharma vs PBKS, 2026
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also became the first batter in history of IPL to hit 10 or more sixes three times in a single season.
