Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the young sensation from Rajasthan Royals, just smashed past Chris Gayle’s long-standing record for the most sixes in a single IPL season—and, actually, in any T20 tournament. During the high-stakes eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he put on a show, blasting 97 runs off only 29 balls. That included five boundaries and a jaw-dropping 12 sixes. He didn’t just hit—he tore the bowling apart at a blistering strike rate of 334.48. With 65 sixes so far in this IPL, Sooryavanshi has eclipsed Gayle’s 2012 mark of 59.
He wasn’t done. Those 12 sixes? That’s now the record for the most in a single playoff innings, breaking Shubman Gill’s previous playoff record of 10. Sooryavanshi’s dominance up front stands out, too—he’s hammered 490 out of his season total of 680 runs in the Powerplay, which is a new high for the tournament.
And get this: he’s still just 15. He’s now the first teenager to rack up at least 600 runs in one season. He’s also toppled Yashasvi Jaiswal’s uncapped-player record for most runs in a season, crossing Jaiswal’s tally from last year.
Sooryavanshi reached his fifty in only 16 balls, matching Suresh Raina’s record for the fastest half-century in an IPL playoff or knockout. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s the first player in IPL history to hit 10 or more sixes in an innings on three separate occasions, surpassing Finn Allen. Across all T20s, he’s done it four times—which ties him with Chris Gayle at the top of that leaderboard.
Eight of those 12 sixes against Hyderabad came inside the Powerplay, which is the most ever by any player in the first six overs of an IPL game.
His late fireworks sealed a 47-run win for the Royals over Sunrisers Hyderabad and sent them to Qualifier 2, where they’ll face Gujarat Titans.
