Sooryavanshi’s 97 in IPL Eliminator leaves tears

Sooryavanshi tears – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi produced a stunning 97 in the IPL 2026 Eliminator for Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad, falling three runs short of the fastest century in league history. After being dismissed, the 15-year-old was visibly heartbroken, with cam

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi didn’t just play a big innings in the IPL 2026 Eliminator. He lived inside the kind of moment that changes a season in seconds.

Representing Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mullanpur, the 15-year-old came out swinging and delivered an unforgettable 97 off just 29 balls. He hammered 12 sixes in the process. tearing through the SRH bowling attack with fearless power that kept widening the gap between what he’d done and what he could still do.

The heartbreak was immediate. Dismissed on 97—three runs short of a historic century—Sooryavanshi walked back toward the pavilion with visible disappointment, and cameras caught signs of tears in his eyes. It was a rare emotional flash during an innings defined by domination.

What made the near-miss sting was how close he was to the record he’d been chasing all along. Chris Gayle’s fastest IPL century. a 30-ball hundred for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2013. still stands as the fastest in IPL history. Sooryavanshi narrowly missed overtaking it after reaching 97. and the number on the scoreboard ended up telling the cruelest version of the story.

Even so, this wasn’t just an innings that nearly became a record. It was one of the most striking performances of the season for a player who has been rewriting the IPL’s speed and scoring milestones.

Before this match, Sooryavanshi already owned the record for the fastest IPL century by an Indian batter. This season, he also holds the second and third-fastest IPL hundreds by an Indian, having reached three figures in just 35 and 36 balls earlier in IPL 2026.

In the Eliminator, his spell continued to break barriers. He shattered Chris Gayle’s 14-year-old record of 59 sixes from the 2012 IPL season, and he now holds the record for the most sixes in a single IPL season with 65.

He also climbed into territory no one else had reached at his age. The RR opener became the first teenager ever to score 600 runs in a T20 tournament before turning 20. and he now holds the record for the most runs by an uncapped batter in a single IPL season—680*. surpassing Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 625 for RR in 2023.

During the knock, Sooryavanshi equalled Suresh Raina’s legendary record for the fastest fifty in IPL playoff history, reaching the milestone in just 16 balls.

His 97 also landed him near the top of Rajasthan Royals’ playoff scoring lists. It became the second-highest individual score by a RR batter in an IPL playoff game, behind only Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 106 against RCB in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2022.

The sequence of landmarks made the dismissal feel even sharper: sixes piled up. milestones fell. and yet the innings ended on the one number that wouldn’t let it become the fastest-ever century. In the background of all those records. the clearest image was still the teenager’s face as he left the field—disappointment that cameras could not miss.

For all the applause that follows a performance like this, fans may remember the moment he walked away most vividly: a 15-year-old prodigy, so close to rewriting the sport’s history, visibly shaken by what slipped through his hands.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Rajasthan Royals Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL 2026 Eliminator Mullanpur 97 off 29 balls 12 sixes Chris Gayle 30-ball century IPL records fastest IPL century by Indian batter tears