'Tu Zyada...': What Triggered Vaibhav Sooryavanshi To Blast Record-Breaking 11-Ball Fifty

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi arrived in Sri Lanka with high expectations. His last two innings before the start of the Tri-Nation A Series in Dambulla came in the IPL 2026 playoffs – scores of 97 in the Eliminator and 96 in Qualifier 2. Those performances were enough for him to become the youngest-ever winner of the Orange Cap in IPL history.

At just 15 years of age, following a series of destructive performances in the T20 tournament, Sooryavanshi had also earned a historic international call-up from the Indian selection committee for the upcoming T20I series in Ireland and England.

Although the tri-nation tournament was a one-day competition, Sooryavanshi was still expected to light it up.

In his first four innings, he managed 117 runs. On each occasion,

the India A opener got starts but failed to convert them into substantial scores. However, he chose the biggest stage of the tournament to remind everyone why he has quickly overshadowed other rising stars in Indian cricket.

In the final, he broke the record for the fastest fifty in List A cricket history, reaching the milestone in just 11 deliveries. He eventually fell for a blistering 94 off 29 balls, laying the foundation for India A’s match-winning total of 377/9 against Sri Lanka A.

So, what triggered the turnaround?

Sooryavanshi credited India A coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar for helping clear his mind.

“When runs were not coming, I sat down with Hrishi sir to discuss a few things and he gave me a free hand to play freely,” Sooryavanshi was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

Sooryavanshi, who has the chance to become the youngest Indian to play international cricket (male or female), admitted he was trying too hard initially before Kanitkar reminded him to stick to what had worked for him so far.

“These conditions were slightly different, so it threw some challenges initially. So, I was trying too hard, but wasn’t being able to execute the plans. That’s when he told me, ‘tu apna natural game khel, zyada soch mat’ (you play your natural game and don’t think too much about anything else). That motivated me and I continued to back myself and I’m happy that things worked out well,” Sooryavanshi said.

When asked if he felt any pressure to score big, the teenager dismissed the suggestion.

“There was no pressure on me. When I walked out to bat, the idea was to execute what I had planned for in the first ten overs and then take it forward. It worked,” he said.