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Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar hailed 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for his sensational knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the eliminator, pointing out his "outstanding bat swing" and how well he clears his front foot for balls aimed at legs, giving him freedom to hit his sixes.
Sooryavanshi cracked a 29-ball 97 against SRH in the eliminator, with five fours and 12 sixes at a strike rate of over 334. He also went past legendary West Indies batter Chris Gayle for most sixes in a T20 tournament, having smashed 65 sixes so far in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Posting on X, Sachin wrote, "Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's bat swing has been outstanding. What's even more remarkable is how beautifully he clears his front foot to create room for balls aimed at his legs. This freedom allows him to play the way he does. That innings was nothing short of spectacular!" https://x.com/sachin_rt/status/2059655659059376544 India's World Cup-winning all-rounder also hailed the "Boss baby" for breaking Gayle's record, posting, "Boss baby breaks world bosses record! Unbelievable this kid great to watch #unreal #VaibhavSooryavanshi #SRHvsRR @IPL" https://x.com/YUVSTRONG12/status/2059644195024101418 Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif also hailed the arrival of a "miracle, a future star", saying that "cricket has so much to look forward to". "We are seeing a miracle, we are seeing a future star, we are seeing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the wonder boy. Jaw dropping sixes, breaks universal boss Chris Gayle's record of most sixes in his first full IPL season. And he's just 15. The opposition players, owners and the entire cricket world applauds. Cricket has so much to look forward to," posted Kaif on X. Sooryavanshi has also levelled with Gayle for most instances of hitting 10-plus sixes in an IPL innings, a total of four times. Three of these occasions have come this season, making him the first batter to hit 10-plus sixes in three IPL innings in a season. The 15-year-old's take down of cricket legends one by one continues as he also surpassed Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya's tally of seven powerplay sixes during the IPL 2008 clash between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), with eight sixes in the powerplay at Mullanpur. Sooryavanshi is the batter with the most runs coming in the powerplay during an IPL season, with 490 runs, overtaking Australian legend David Warner, who scored 467 runs for SRH in the 2016 edition. This is also his fifth fifty-plus score in the power play in IPL, with only Warner (six such scores) ahead of him. He has also joined Suresh Raina (87 against Punjab Kings in 2014) and Adam Gilchrist (74 against Delhi Daredevils in 2009) for fifty-plus scores made during powerplay in an IPL knockout/playoff match. This is Sooryavanshi's fifth fifty in less than 20 balls, with only Abhishek Sharma (six) above him. The 15-year-old's 16-ball half-century tied with Raina's 16-ball fifty (against PBKS in 2014) for the joint-fastest fifty in an IPL knockout/playoff match. Twelve sixes smashed by him are also the most in an innings by a batter in IPL knockouts/playoffs, outdoing Shubman Gill's 10 sixes against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2023. Sooryavanshi has the most sixes in an IPL inning by an Indian as well. Ninety-seven runs by Sooryavanshi is the second-highest individual score for RR in an IPL knockouts/Playoffs game, behind 106* runs by Jos Buttler against RCB in the qualifier 2 of IPL 2022. In this season, Sooryavanshi has smashed 680 runs in 15 innings at an average of 45.33 and a strike rate of 242.85, including a century and four fifties, with a best score of 103. He has smashed 55 fours and 65 sixes in 280 balls faced. His balls per boundary shot ratio is 2.3, and balls per six ratio is 4.3. This is the most runs an uncapped batter has scored in an IPL season, overtaking his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal's tally of 625 runs in the 2023 season. Also, he is the youngest to complete 600 runs in an IPL season. Before the left-handed sensation arrived to the scene, no other batter in T20 history had smashed 600+ runs in a T20 tournament while also striking at 200-plus. Put to bat first, RR scored 242/8 in 20 overs, with Sooryavanshi (97 in 29 balls, with five fours and 12 sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (50 in 21 balls, with five fours and three sixes) playing crucial knocks. Praful Hinge (3/54) was the pick of the bowlers for SRH. (ANI)
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