Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's 29-ball 97 in IPL Eliminator breaks internet: ‘He’s the best T20 opener in world’

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has left everyone watching IPL 2026 Eliminator in awe with his breathtaking innings against the SunRisers Hyderabad in Mullanpur on Wednesday (May 27). The left-handed opener, 15, not only broke his opposition’s morale, but also age-old IPL records for fun. Opening alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sooryavanshi surpassed Chris Gayle’s tally for most sixes hit in an IPL season, hammering 12 in his 29-ball 97-run knock at the top. Although he came agonisingly close to breaking the record for the fastest ever IPL hundred, SRH’s Praful Hinge had the last laugh.

Sooryavanshi started in the most Sooryavanshi manner, hitting sixes from the word go. Inside the Powerplay, Vaibhav hit eight sixes, three each off two successive overs. In the fourth over, he broke Gayle’s tally of 59 sixes in an IPL season.

Most Sixes Hit in an IPL Season –

• 65 - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026)
• 59 - Chris Gayle (2012)
• 52 - Andre Russell (2019)
• 51 - Chris Gayle (2013)
• 45 - Jos Buttler (2022)

His sublime form and stroke-making left the internet stunned, with some of the greatest names in world cricket going gaga over this batting prodigy.
After RR registered 80 in the first six overs, the pair went berserk, hitting 45 in the next 12 balls. Sooryavanshi clobbered four more in those two overs, before finding Smaran Ravichandran at deep third man off Hinge’s bouncer on 97 off just 29 balls.

His dismissal broke everyone's heart inside the stadium, as a stunned silence revealed how disappointed they all were.

Vaibhav, standing in the middle, couldn’t believe what happened, as he began marching slowly towards the dressing room.

Check how the internet reacted to this ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ innings -