Chris Gayle Praises Young Star Sooryavanshi's Record-Breaking IPL Performance

Sooryavanshi's Stellar Performance in IPL Eliminator

Chris Gayle, the legendary West Indies cricketer, has commended the remarkable performance of 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who scored an astonishing 97 runs off just 29 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL eliminator. This impressive feat allowed Sooryavanshi to surpass Gayle's record for the most sixes in a single IPL season.

Sooryavanshi showcased his talent by dismantling a strong SRH bowling attack, hitting five fours and an incredible 12 sixes, achieving a strike rate exceeding 334. He has now hit 65 sixes this season, breaking Gayle's previous record of 59 sixes set in 2012.

In an Instagram post, Gayle expressed his admiration, stating, "Outstanding @Vaibhav_Sooryavanshi09, a new six machine @iplt20." He also encouraged Sooryavanshi, who narrowly missed the record for the fastest IPL century, held by Gayle himself, saying that the young player will eventually achieve that milestone.

Sooryavanshi's Impressive Season Statistics

Throughout this IPL season, Sooryavanshi has accumulated 680 runs in 15 innings, averaging 45.33 with a remarkable strike rate of 242.85. His performance includes one century and four half-centuries, with a highest score of 103. He has hit 55 fours and 65 sixes from 280 balls faced, achieving a boundary every 2.3 balls and a six every 4.3 balls.

Notably, 88.9% of his runs have come from boundaries, surpassing Andre Russell's 85.5% in the 2019 IPL season.

Sooryavanshi has matched Gayle's record for the most innings with 10 or more sixes in IPL history, achieving this feat four times, with three instances occurring this season alone.

Record-Breaking Achievements

The young cricketer continues to break records, surpassing Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya's record of seven powerplay sixes by hitting eight during a match against Mumbai Indians. He now holds the record for the most runs scored in the powerplay during an IPL season, totaling 490 runs, overtaking David Warner's previous record of 467 runs.

Sooryavanshi has also recorded five fifty-plus scores in the powerplay, trailing only Warner, who has six. He joins Suresh Raina and Adam Gilchrist in achieving fifty-plus scores during IPL knockout matches.

His 16-ball half-century ties with Raina's record for the fastest fifty in an IPL playoff match, and his 12 sixes in a single innings are the most ever recorded in IPL knockouts.

Rajasthan Royals Advance to Qualifier 2

With this victory, SRH has been eliminated from the tournament, while Rajasthan Royals will face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 for a chance to compete in the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

In the match, Sooryavanshi's explosive 97 runs and Dhruv Jurel's 50 runs helped RR post a total of 243/8 in 20 overs. Despite a brief resurgence from Ishan Kishan, who scored 33 runs, SRH struggled and was bowled out for 196 in 19.2 overs.