Every day in IPL is now a Vaibhav Sooryavanshi day. At just 15 years of age, he has become a face of not just the Rajasthan Royals franchise but also the league. Even when he’s not playing, his news makes headlines.
A lot of this has been done because of his records. Second-fastest century, third-fastest fifty (twice), youngest to almost everything he does, and so on. But a big share of his reputation travels because of who he has done it against.
Below are five bonafide IPL legends who were smacked for a six or four by Sooryavanshi within their first two balls.
1. Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians), April 7, 2026:
Facing the world’s most feared pace bowler for the very first time in an 11-over rain-curtailed match in Guwahati, Sooryavanshi did the unthinkable.
On the very first ball he faced from
Bumrah, the left-hander launched a stunning six directly over long-on, a shot so audacious it drew a wry smile from the Indian spearhead. To be fair, it wasn’t Bumrah’s best ball, but Sooryavanshi showed again that he doesn’t care about that or the bowler’s reputation.
He immediately followed it up by whipping the next delivery over deep square leg for another maximum. He got out for 39 off 14, but the Royals won the match easily.
2. Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), April 10, 2026:
Josh Hazlewood, returning from a long injury layoff, was introduced into the attack, hoping to find his typically metronomic rhythm. Sooryavanshi denied him the opportunity entirely.
The Australian quick is known for troubling Yashasvi Jaiswal with his ‘channel’ ball just outside the off-stump. He tried the same with Sooryavanshi, who somehow, incredibly, managed to lean back and use his wrists to time it through the offside.
The teenager soon made it a hat-trick of fours. This flurry of boundaries set the tone for his blistering 26-ball 78.
3. Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders), April 19, 2026:
When the veteran mystery spinner was introduced in the fifth over at Eden Gardens to stifle the run rate, Sooryavanshi was ready. After missing a drive on the first ball, the teenager announced himself on the second delivery. Reading the trajectory perfectly, he sat down and smashed the tossed-up ball for a towering six over deep square leg, the first maximum of the match.
4. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), April 10, 2026:
Renowned for his lethal swing with the new ball, Bhuvneshwar Kumar found no respect from the teenager during their powerplay face-off in the same match against RCB. On the very first ball he faced from the seasoned paceman, Sooryavanshi offered a stunning on-drive to get off the mark.
5. Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings), May 20, 2025
Before they became teammates at the Rajasthan Royals, a 14-year-old Sooryavanshi faced the veteran left-arm spinner during his debut 2025 season. En route to a mature (especially for that age!) 57 off 33 balls against CSK at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the youngster wasted no time letting Jadeja settle.
On his first ball against the legend, Sooryavanshi went back to cut it for a single. The second ball he faced was straighter and flatter, so the left-hander used his huge bat-lift to get under and smoke it down the ground. Two balls later, he hit him for another big one.
