Vaibhav Sooryavanshi didn't know he was close to Gayle’s century record as RR reach Qualifier 2

Rajasthan Royals stormed into Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026 after a dominant 47 run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a high scoring Eliminator clash at New Chandigarh.

Chasing a mammoth 244, SRH came out swinging with Ishan Kishan blasting 33 off just 11 balls. But once the early momentum faded, Rajasthan’s bowlers completely took control. Jofra Archer led the attack with three wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja, Nandre Burger and Sushant Mishra chipped in regularly as Hyderabad were bowled out for 196.

The night, however, belonged entirely to 15 year old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

The Rajasthan opener produced one of the most explosive knocks in IPL playoff history, smashing 97 off just 29 deliveries with five fours and 12 towering sixes. SRH bowlers had absolutely no answers as Vaibhav attacked from ball one and turned the Eliminator into a one sided spectacle within the powerplay itself.

He came agonisingly close to breaking Chris Gayle’s legendary record for the fastest IPL century. Vaibhav was batting on 97 when he attempted another big shot off Praful Hinge, only to get caught in the deep. Had the ball gone for four, he would have reached a century in just 29 balls and surpassed Gayle’s famous 30 ball ton.

Interestingly, Vaibhav later revealed he did not even know about the record during the innings.

“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,” he said after the match.

Even without the century, Vaibhav still rewrote history. His 12 sixes took his tally to 65 maximums this season, breaking Chris Gayle’s long standing record of 59 sixes in a single IPL edition from 2012.