A 15-year-old produced one of the greatest innings the TATA IPL has ever seen as Rajasthan Royals (RR) stormed into Qualifier 2 with a 47-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator at Mullanpur. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s astonishing 97 off just 29 balls rewrote record books, shattered a long-standing Chris Gayle milestone, and powered RR into a clash with Gujarat Titans for a place in the final.

Fittingly, it was Sooryavanshi himself who completed the win, taking the final catch as SRH’s chase ended well short of Rajasthan’s daunting 243.

Pat Cummins’ decision to bowl first backfired spectacularly almost immediately. RR came out with breathtaking intent and Sooryavanshi turned the Eliminator into his personal highlight reel.

The teenager hammered 97 at a staggering strike rate of 334.48, smashing five fours and 12 sixes in an innings that left even the seasoned T20 observers stunned. Eight of those sixes came in the powerplay — the most by any batter in that phase in an IPL innings.

He's just getting started 😉

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 🆚 Pat Cummins 🍿

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His fifty came in just 16 balls, equalling Suresh Raina’s record for the fastest fifty in IPL playoffs. More remarkably, his season tally of 65 sixes broke Chris Gayle’s long-standing record for the most sixes in a T20 tournament. Gayle had hit 59 in IPL 2012 across 456 balls; Sooryavanshi crossed the mark in just 266 deliveries.

Every SRH plan unravelled. Length balls disappeared over the ropes, yorkers missed their mark and even changes in pace made little difference. Two months after rewriting the record for the fastest IPL century by an Indian, Sooryavanshi delivered an even bigger statement on the biggest stage.

He eventually fell agonisingly short of a century, attempting to clear deep third man and misjudging the field, as he later admitted. But by then, the damage had long been done.

Dhruv Jurel ensured the momentum never dipped, blasting a 21-ball fifty of his own. SRH did claw back some control at the death, conceding only 29 runs in the final four overs, but RR still finished with a mammoth 243.

Facing a mountain in a knockout game, SRH had little option but to attack. Jofra Archer dismissed SRH’s in-form top three, including Abhishek Sharma for a duck in his first over. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Impact Player Salil Arora briefly reignited hopes with a rapid fifty-run partnership off just 19 balls. At the halfway stage, SRH still needed 112 off 60 balls.

2️⃣ early wickets, 1️⃣ signature celebration 🫶

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Heinrich Klaasen briefly lit up the chase with a stunning inside-out six off Yash Raj Punja, making room to carve a good-length ball over extra cover despite it angling towards leg stump.

But the decisive blow came from Jadeja.

With his fifth delivery, the left-arm spinner angled one in from round the wicket, denying Reddy room to free his arms. The batter holed out to deep midwicket for a dangerous 38 off 20 balls, leaving SRH at 137/6 in 10.5 overs.

From there, the innings unravelled quickly. Jadeja removed Salil Arora for 35, while Sushant Mishra dismissed Cummins as wickets tumbled in clusters.

For SRH, a season built around relentless batting firepower ended in disappointment. A side that crossed 200 nine times this season was ultimately out-hit, out-paced and out-thought when it mattered most.

For RR, meanwhile, the timing could not be better. With Sooryavanshi producing record-breaking destruction and the rest of the side rallying around him, Rajasthan now head into Qualifier 2 looking like a genuine title threat.

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