Vaibhav Sooryavanshi foils SRH's Plan A, B, and C in IPL Eliminator

15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got off to a flyer against SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL Eliminator on Wednesday. Vaibhav reached his fifty in just 16 balls, foiling all plans set by SRH in today's game.

In Short

• Vaibhav Sooryavanshi broke Chris Gayle's all-time record
• Sooryavanshi reached his fifty in just 16 balls
• All of SRH's plans were foiled by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

The SunRisers Hyderabad came armed with multiple plans for young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the IPL Eliminator against the Rajasthan Royals. But by the end of a breathtaking powerplay assault in Mullanpur, every one of those plans had been torn apart by the 15 year old prodigy.

Sooryavanshi produced one of the most destructive knocks in IPL history on Wednesday, smashing 97 runs off just 29 balls and leaving the SRH bowling attack shell shocked. Ahead of the match, SRH captain Pat Cummins had confidently stated that his side had a Plan A, B, and C ready for the teenager. None of them worked.

VAIBHAV'S KNOCK IN NUMBERS

Sooryavanshi brought up his fifty in just 16 deliveries, continuing a season that has now entered historic territory. The left hander hammered 12 sixes in the innings, the most by an Indian batter in a single IPL match.

SRH vs RR, IPL 2026 Eliminator: UPDATES | SCORECARD

In the process, he also broke Chris Gayle's long standing record of most sixes in a single IPL season. Gayle had hit 59 maximums back in 2012, a mark that stood untouched for over a decade before Vaibhav finally went past it.

The youngster looked set to script another historic feat, the fastest hundred in IPL history, but fell heartbreakingly short. On 97, he top edged a delivery from Praful Hinge to third man in the eighth over.

SRH'S PLANS AGAINST VAIBHAV

SRH tried three distinct methods to stop the teenager, but each one failed spectacularly.

Plan A came straight from Cummins himself. The SRH skipper began with a barrage of yorkers, attempting to deny the batter any room to free his arms. The approach worked briefly, but only for a handful of deliveries. Cummins then switched angles, coming around the wicket and targeting the top of off stump. That too backfired almost immediately as Sooryavanshi launched him for a stunning lofted drive over the infield for his first six of the innings.

Plan B involved pace and hostility. Eshan Malinga attacked the batter with short pitched bowling, hoping to rush the teenager with extra bounce and pace. Instead, Sooryavanshi's lightning fast hands took over. The left hander repeatedly pulled and hooked the ball deep into the leg side stands.

A rattled SRH quickly moved to Plan C, relying on off cutters and slower balls to break his rhythm. That strategy disappeared into the stands as well.

Sooryavanshi's brutal domination in the powerplay helped Rajasthan race to 80 without loss. Out of those 80 runs, Vaibhav alone contributed 60, while Yashasvi Jaiswal managed just 19 at the other end.

The carnage also pushed Sooryavanshi to another record. He finished the season with 490 powerplay runs, the highest ever recorded in IPL history, surpassing the previous mark of 467 set by David Warner in 2016.

SRH vs RR: VAIBHAV LEAVES SRH REELING

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's incredible assault left SunRisers Hyderabad completely rattled on Wednesday. By the time the youngster was dismissed for 97, Rajasthan Royals had stormed to 125/1 in just eight overs, with the match already slipping away from SRH.

After Vaibhav's dismissal, Dhruv Jurel seamlessly took over the attacking role and continued the carnage from the very first ball he faced. Rajasthan's scoring rate barely dipped as the Royals raced to 136/1 at the end of 10 overs.

The Royals crossed the 150 run mark by the 11th over and continued to dominate the innings with fearless strokeplay. SRH's bowlers looked completely out of answers on the night, especially captain Pat Cummins, who failed to replicate the exceptional performances that had carried Hyderabad through the season.

Cummins leaked 51 runs in his first three overs, summing up SRH's disastrous outing with the ball in the Eliminator.

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