Vaibhav enthralls on night of euphoria and heartbreak, breaks Gayle’s record

Let the figures speak for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who fell short of what would have been a second IPL century for him this season, by just three runs. A 97 off 29 balls (yes, you read that right), studded with 12 sixes and five fours at a strike rate of 334.48, saw him gallop past the likes of Sai Sudarshan and Shubman Gill to the top of the orange cap race with 680 runs and counting, as there are still a possible two more matches to go for his team Rajasthan Royals.

The 12 sixes which the wonderkid slammed against Pat Cummins & Co. in their eliminator at New Chandigarh saw him shatter a 14-year-old record of Chris Gayle for maximum sixes in an IPL season. The ‘Universe Boss,’ as Gayle was known, hit 59 of them in 2012, but his 15-year-old usurper now has a tally of 65, and it’s anybody’s guess as to where the barrage will stop.

Expectations were sky-high from Vaibhav in what’s a must-win eliminator, but the teenage sensation seemed to bring out that extra something, the hallmark of a quality player. He raced to his half-century in just 16 balls and in the process, became the batter with the most sixes ever recorded in a single IPL season. Here’s a breakdown of his season so far: 680 runs in 15 innings; the best strike rate of 242.85 and 65 sixes till date.

The march of milestones did not stop there as Vaibhav also became the youngest player ever to complete 600 runs in a single IPL season, breaking the previous record of Rishabh Pant (for Delhi Daredevils in 2018). Incidentally, before IPL 2026, no batter in the tournament’s history had scored 550 or more runs in a season at a strike rate above 200, underlining the value he brings for as long as he is at the crease.

As a hush descended upon the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium when Vaibhav eventually left, the astute Cummins must have been ruing his decision to send his opposition in. The scoreboard was then reading 125 for one after 8 overs, with Vaibhav’s senior partner Yashasvi Jaiswal looking the novice. The Royals finally threw the gauntlet to an equally explosive batting line-up with a total of 243/8.

While Rajasthan entered the contest under pressure after losing twice to Hyderabad earlier in the season, Vaibhav showed no signs of nerves, taking apart the SRH attack from the word go. The knock further cemented his status as the breakout superstar of the 2026 season, and it's just the beginning...

Most sixes in an IPL season

65 - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026)

59 - Chris Gayle (2012)

52 - Andre Russell (2019)

51 - Chris Gayle (2013)

45 - Jos Buttler (2022)