![Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Chris Gayle [Source: AFP]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1779704942622_VaibhavSooryavanshiChrisGayle.jpg?type=hq)
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Chris Gayle [Source: AFP]
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been in excellent form for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) season.
His bat was silent when Rajasthan Royals defeated Mumbai Indians in their final league stage game of the IPL 2026 on Sunday. Asked to bat first, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi only managed 4 runs as he was dismissed, caught by Naman Dhir off Deepak Chahar’s bowling.
However, his overall performance has been magnificent in the competition. Sooryavanshi, who has helped RR immensely in their journey to the playoffs of the IPL 2026, eyes Chris Gayle's most prolific batting record.
RR manage to defeat MI to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs
Sooryavanshi’s failure didn’t deter the RR team, as they slowly and steadily worked their way towards a good total.
Dhruv Jurel (38), Jofra Archer (32), and Dasun Shanaka (29) led RR to 205/8 in 20 overs during a clumsy innings. For MI, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur both claimed two wickets.
In response, MI was limited to 175/6 and lost by 30 runs, with only Suryakumar Yadav (60), Will Jacks (33), and Hardik Pandya (34) contributing with significant scores. Jofra Archer starred with 3/17, while Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma and Yash Raj Punja took two wickets each.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in line to break Chris Gayle’s record
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has smashed 53 sixes in the ongoing IPL 2026, the most by an Indian in a single edition of the tournament. The record is held by Chris Gayle, who smashed 59 sixes in IPL 2012 and still holds the record for most sixes in a single IPL edition.
Also Read: Rajasthan Royals Issue Official Statement On Riyan Parag's Captaincy Future
However, there is one record of Chris Gayle that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is eyeing specifically and that record has been with Gayle since the last decade.
Gayle achieved that record for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Pune Warriors India in Bengaluru and is remains the record, not only in IPL, but in T20 cricket as well.
“I want to score 200 in T20”—Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, while scoring a 25-ball 100
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has openly stated that he wants to take down Chris Gayle’s record of 175* in a T20 innings and wants to become the first batter to score 200 runs in a T20 game.
This admission came when Vaibhav Sooryavanshi appeared in the latest episode of Kevin Pietersen’s YouTube show “The Switch."
On the show, Sooryavanshi was challenged by Pietersen to score 100 runs off of 50 balls. But the 15-year-old went on to break the Englishman's record by hitting the target in just 25 balls.
On Kevin Pietersen's show, he was unable to surpass Shreyas Iyer's record for the fastest century. In just 22 balls, Shreyas—who had also been on Pietersen's program—scored a century.
Furthermore, Sooryavanshi declared that he wants to break Chris Gayle’s record of 175* and go for 200 runs.
“I want to score 200 in T20. Chris Gayle’s got 175. Yeah, I want to break his record and score 200. If I play 20 overs in any game, I definitely will break that record,” Sooryavanshi stated.
Conclusion: Will Vaibhav Sooryavanshi break Chris Gayle’s record?
Jatin's take
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is an amazing talent despite being 15 years old and has shown that he has the ability to ruin records and bowlers on his day. He has already scored a 35-ball and 36-ball hundreds in the IPL, just shy of Chris Gayle’s record of 30 balls.
Given the way he bats and the sixes he launches, Sooryavanshi can very well break Chris Gayle’s record, which was threatened only once, by Australia’s Aaron Finch, who made 172* in a T20I against Zimbabwe.
In the past, Sooryavanshi has twice nearly reached the 200-run threshold. In addition to his scorching 175 in the Under-19 World Cup final, he scored 190 for Bihar in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He presently has a top T20 score of 144, and there is every reason to think he can someday achieve the historic achievement.
Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav's Cost Per Run For MI In IPL 2026
.jpg?type=mq "Sanjay Manjrekar on Sooryavanshi")
