Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lit up the IPL 2026 Eliminator on Wednesday with an incredible 29-ball 97 for Rajasthan Royals (RR) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). So good was his knock that even the opposition camp congratulated the 15-year-old. SRH co-owner Kavya Maran made a special gesture towards Sooryavanshi after the game, the video of which went viral on social media. Kavya Maran took time out to personally congratulate Sooryavanshi, shaking hands with the youngster and seemingly offering him some words of praise.
WATCH: SRH co-owner Kavya Maran’s special gesture towards Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Dominant with the bat
Clinical with the ball @rajasthanroyals will next play for a place in the #Finalscore card https://t.co/OBIYYIuhbt #TATAIPL | #Eliminator | #TheFinalLeap | #SRHvRR pic.twitter.com/ltlBLaZ4Y0
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 27, 2026
Meanwhile, SRH assistant coach, james franklinpraised the teenager’s talent for big hitting and said that the left-handed batter is only going to be better and stronger from here.
Addressing the media during the post-match press conference, Franklin said, “I don’t think anyone’s ever seen a talent like this. It’s freakish what he’s doing at the moment. To think that he’s potentially got 25 years left in a career is quite scary. And he’s only going to get better. He’s only going to get stronger. He’s only going to get more mature with how he bats. So it’s just devastating at the moment.”
Sooryavanshi went past West Indies icon Chris Gayle for most sixes in an IPL season with 65 sixes. He is also the leading run-scorer in the tournament this year with 680 runs, striking at 242 and an average of 45. He has also hit 55 fours this season.
Talking about the plans of bowling against Sooryavanshi, Franklin said, “There was a very, very small margin where you could bowl to him. And I guess when you’re playing on a really good pitch as well, it makes it particularly hard for bowlers to try and execute that tiny margin that you’re looking for. I think you probably saw in the first couple of overs of the power play that we were trying to bowl quite full, sort of inside leg stump, trying to get under his swing.”
He added, “But then he started to work that out, which is his talent. He’s an amazing talent who can then start playing around with that and then start to cause the bowlers to have to go to other places, which tend to then go back into his strength. So, yeah, just another amazing innings from an amazing talent.”
With ANI inputs
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