- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi breaks Chris Gayle’s IPL sixes record.
- Chris Gayle calls him cricket’s “new six machine”.
- Rajasthan Royals advanced to Qualifier 2 against GT.
As the Rajasthan Royals opener smashed his iconic IPL six-hitting record during the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chris Gayle has given Indian teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the ultimate seal of approval.
One of the best power batter in T20 history, Gayle, praised the 15-year-old as cricket’s “new six machine” after Sooryavanshi scored an incredible 97 off just 29 balls at Mullanpur on Wednesday. The cricket world was astounded when the RR teen prodigy hit 12 majestic sixes and five fours at an incredible strike rate of 334.48.
“What a phenomenal player Vaibhav is. Great entertainment young man! New Six machine,” Gayle wrote on social media after the match.
In addition to guiding Rajasthan Royals to 243 for 8, Sooryavanshi rewrote IPL history. With 12 sixes against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he reached 65 maximums in IPL 2026—the most of any batter in a single IPL season and the most in any T20 competition.
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In the process, he surpassed Gayle’s long-standing record of 59 sixes from his illustrious 2012 Indian Premier League season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The speed at which the adolescent accomplished the task was what made it even more amazing. While Sooryavanshi required just 266 balls to accomplish his total, Gayle needed 456 deliveries.
As well as this historic accomplishment, the 15-year-old came agonisingly close to another one. As Sooryavanshi later admitted, he had no idea about the milestone during his explosive innings, which would have been the fastest century in IPL history.
“I got to know after the game. My focus was on hitting a six. I will score centuries in future but the focus was on getting maximum runs for the team. I just work on my plan and if there are any shortcomings, I just try to work on that,” he said during the post-match presentation.
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Sooryavanshi also discussed how his bold style has helped him become the IPL 2026 breakout sensation.
“I try to just analyse how to face the bowlers, judge the length of the boundaries. When I am showing good intent, the bowler is under pressure. We have won so we will celebrate and try and do well in the next game. I don’t think much about the bowlers, try to just play my game,” he said.
With Jofra Archer shining with the ball, the Rajasthan Royals finally defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs after bowling them out for 196 in 19.2 overs. The night belonged to Sooryavanshi, whose incredible power-hitting won plaudits from the original “Universe Boss” himself. However, the victory guaranteed RR’s spot in Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans.
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