Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Chris Gayle [Source: AFP, EPA]Vaibhav Sooryavanshi steamrolled Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator of the IPL 2026 season. The blistering Rajasthan Royals opener clobbered five boundaries and 12 sixes in his electrifying 29-ball 97 in New Chandigarh. Apart from storming the Royals franchise into the second qualifier of the season, Sooryavanshi also fell agonizingly short of scripting a huge IPL record, that of notching up the league’s fastest-ever century. Unknowingly chasing the record of Chris Gayle’s 30-ball ton, the 15-year-old was caught out while attempting to hit a boundary in the 29th ball of his innings. Despite missing out on a rare all-time IPL record, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi seems least bothered as his “only focus” right now is to lift the coveted silverware for the Rajasthan Royals. Sooryavanshi least bothered about fastest century record Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was batting on 97* from 28 balls before his attempted upper cut off Praful Hinge got caught by Ravichandran Smaran. Had that ball gone for a boundary, the youngster would have raced to a 29-ball century to break Chris Gayle’s all-time fastest hundred record (30 balls). Also Read- Mumbai Indians To Go For Vaibhav Sooryavanshi? Teams Who Might Be Interested In RR OpenerThe 15-year-old, however, admitted that he was not aware that he was approaching Gayle’s fastest century record, claiming that he realized about the milestone only after getting dismissed. While speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, the Rajasthan Royals opener added that he will keep scoring centuries but his only focus right now is to win the IPL 2026 trophy. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi said “Mere 100s lagte rahenge. I found out only after I got out. At that time, my only focus was to contribute as much as I could because centuries will keep happening, but right now the focus is on how to win the trophy.” The Chris Gayle record that Sooryavanshi broke Speaking of, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi did up end breaking a huge Chris Gayle IPL record, that of launching the highest number of sixes in a single edition of the tournament. After bombarding SRH bowlers with 12 sixes in a single New Chandigarh evening, the youngster extended his IPL 2026 tally to 65 maximums. Back in IPL 2012, then RCB opener Gayle struck 59 sixes and aggregated 733 runs in the tournament. Rajasthan Royals to face Titans in Qualifier 2 Batting first, the Rajasthan Royals mounted 243-8 in 20 overs. Apart from opening batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 29-ball 97, Dhruv Jurel at number three also blasted 50 runs from just 21 balls. For the SRH, fast bowler Praful Hinge picked up three wickets in the high-scoring innings, including that of Sooryavanshi and Royals captain Riyan Parag. Chasing 244, SRH got off to a flier courtesy of a cracking 11-ball 33 from Ishan Kishan. However, regular strikes from Jofra Archer (3-58), Nandre Burger (2-26), Sushant Mishra (2-21) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-21) enveloped the entire SRH innings for just 196. The Rajasthan Royals will now face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2026 season on Friday, May 29 in New Chandigarh. Also Read- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Vs Chris Gayle Comparison After 22 IPL Matches
