Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 97 Couldn't Beat Suresh Raina's 87 And It'll Blow Your Mind Why

To have Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Kevin Pietersen lining up on X (formerly Twitter) and singing praises of your batting exploits and sublime shot selections is no small feat, but that’s how Vaibhav Sooryavanshi rolls. The Rajasthan Royals’ opening batter, all of 15, has plundered 680 runs across 15 innings in IPL 2026, and Wednesday night seemed no different when Sooryavanshi rattled Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator with a match-winning 29-ball 97. For context, his partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal, scored a 29 off 29.

The 15-year-old batting champ from India, whose free-flowing batting display has propelled Rajasthan Royals to the second Qualifier, broke several records against SRH. Most notably, the long-standing, 14-year-old record of

Chris Gayle of smashing the most sixes in a single IPL. Gayle sent the ball over the fence 59 times in IPL 2012. Sooryavanshi? 65 sixes so far in IPL 2026. What’s even more impressive is that it took the teen only 280 balls. Gayle faced 456 deliveries. The cricket prodigy has been striking at an incomprehensible 242.85 this season.

His brutal 97 against SRH in the Eliminator that powered Rajasthan to a breezy 47-run win brought up the Chennai Super Kings icon Suresh Raina not once but twice into the conversation on the big night, and for good reasons. While he matched Raina by equalling the record for the fastest half-century in an IPL playoff match in 16 deliveries, there was one list where he lost to the CSK veteran by a whisker. The list was put up by the broadcasters during the knockout clash between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Also Read: Decoding Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Insane 38-Ball IPL Stat That Makes No Sense

Suresh Raina’s 87 – An Innings On The Tip of The Tongue

Widely considered as one of the greatest innings played in IPL, Suresh Raina’s 87 for Chennai Super Kings is in a league of its own. It’s timeless even though it came in a losing cause.

Raina famously smoked 87 off 25 balls in the 2014 IPL Qualifier 2 against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) while chasing Punjab’s dominant 226/6 at the Wankhede Stadium. After watching Virender Sehwag blazing away 122 off 58 balls, CSK needed something extraordinary just to believe a chase was even possible. Their hopes were instantly crushed when Faf du Plessis departed in the very first over of their chase. Out came Raina at the number 3 position, and the rest, as they say, was history.

When Raina Believed

Raina batted on a different plane, having walked out with a belief they could do it as he took on the imposing target and took it apart one ball at a time. The southpaw brought up his fifty off just 16 deliveries before finishing with 12 boundaries and 6 maximums at a mind-numbing strike rate of 348. Remember that number because it remains the highest strike rate in the IPL’s illustrious history. Yes, Raina holds the record for the highest-ever recorded strike rate in an IPL innings of more than 25 balls.

Also Read: SRH Lost To RR But They Have The Coolest Record In IPL Eliminator History

Raina also holds the record for the highest strike rate registered in a 70+ runs innings in the IPL.

(Source: IPL)

It took a running mix-up with partner Brendon McCullum that saw Raina departing for 87. CSK fell 24 runs short.

The Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Show

While Raina’s evergreen innings managed to beat Sooryavanshi on the striking scale, the teen sensation wasn’t too far behind with 334.48 strike rate.

He also came achingly close to beating the legendary Gayle’s record for the fastest IPL century. However, the second and third spots belong to the star.

We were close to seeing 20s into this list. pic.twitter.com/aeY4egh6cn

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) May 27, 2026

Earlier this season, Sooryavanshi became the fastest batter to achieve 400 runs in a single season, facing the fewest balls. It took him just 167.

Sooryavanshi broke several records during his 97, which was laced with 5 boundaries and 12 maximums in the knockout game last night. He became the first teenager in the world to score 600 runs in a T20 tournament. He holds the record for the most sixes in an IPL playoffs match, tallying 12. You can check the exhaustive list here.