Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has dethroned Chris Gayle as the IPL’s all-time six-hitting king in a single season. The 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals opener smashed 12 sixes in a jaw-dropping 97 off 29 balls during the IPL 2026 Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Mullanpur on May 27, pushing his season tally to 65 sixes.
That’s not just an IPL record. It’s the most sixes by any batter in any T20 tournament in history. Gayle’s previous mark of 59 sixes from the 2012 season had stood untouched for 14 years. Sooryavanshi obliterated it at age 15.
How Did Sooryavanshi Break the Record?
He did it the only way he knows: absolute carnage from ball one.
Against SRH in the Eliminator, Sooryavanshi started by smashing three consecutive sixes off Pat Cummins in the first over. He reached his fifty in just 16 balls, equalling Suresh Raina’s record for the fastest fifty in IPL playoff history (set against PBKS in 2014).
He entered the innings needing six sixes to overtake Gayle. His 60th six came off Sakib Hussain in the fourth over, a full delivery that Sooryavanshi launched over extra cover to officially break the 14-year-old record.
But he didn’t stop there. By the time he fell for 97 off 29 balls, he had hit 12 sixes in total, finishing with a strike rate of 334.48. That’s the highest strike rate in any IPL innings of 90 or more runs, surpassing Rajat Patidar’s 281.81 (93* off 33) set just a day earlier in Qualifier 1.
How Does Sooryavanshi’s Record Compare to Gayle’s?
The numbers put the gap in perspective.
| Record | Sooryavanshi (2026) | Gayle (2012) |
|---|---|---|
| Total sixes in season | 65 | 59 |
| Balls faced for record | 266 | 456 |
| Season runs | 680 | 733 |
| Strike rate | 242.85 | 183.13 |
| Innings with 10+ sixes | 4 (joint record) | 4 |
| Age when record set | 15 | 32 |
Gayle took 456 balls across the entire 2012 season to hit 59 sixes. Sooryavanshi needed just 266 balls for 65. That’s nearly 200 fewer deliveries to hit six more maximums. The efficiency gap is staggering.
Additionally, Sooryavanshi now shares the record for most innings with 10-plus sixes in the IPL alongside Gayle (four each). However, three of Sooryavanshi’s four came in a single season (2026), something Gayle never managed.
What Other Records Did Sooryavanshi Break?
The Eliminator knock alone produced a cascade of milestones.
Eight powerplay sixes against SRH, the most by any batter in a single powerplay in IPL history. Five batters had previously hit seven, including Sooryavanshi himself earlier this season against the same opposition.
490 powerplay runs this season, overtaking David Warner’s 467 for SRH in 2016 as the most runs scored in the powerplay in any IPL season.
Five powerplay fifties in IPL 2026, second only to Warner’s six across his career. Four of Sooryavanshi’s five came this season alone, equalling Travis Head’s four from 2024.
680 runs at a strike rate of 242.85 makes him the first batter in T20 cricket history to score 600-plus runs in a tournament while maintaining a strike rate above 200. The closest comparison is Rilee Rossouw’s 623 runs at 192.28 in the 2022 T20 Blast.
And perhaps the most mind-bending stat of all: Sooryavanshi reached his first 10 sixes of the Eliminator innings in just 24 balls. Gayle’s fastest ten sixes came in 27 balls during his legendary 175* against Pune Warriors in 2013.
What Makes Sooryavanshi’s Season Historically Unique?
Three things separate this from every other batting season in T20 history.
First, the age factor. Sooryavanshi is 15. He’s breaking records set by the greatest power hitters in cricket history before he’s old enough to drive. Gayle was 32 when he set his sixes record. AB de Villiers, Kieron Pollard, and Rohit Sharma never came close to 60 sixes in a single season at any age.
Second, the consistency at extreme strike rates. Most batters who strike above 200 do it in one or two explosive knocks. Sooryavanshi has done it across 15 innings, with three separate innings where his strike rate exceeded 300 while scoring 50-plus. Only Kieron Pollard (four instances across his entire T20 career) matches that.
Third, the knockout performances. Sooryavanshi’s 97 off 29 came in an IPL Eliminator, not a dead rubber. He delivered his biggest knock when RR’s season was on the line. That kind of temperament at 15 goes beyond talent. It’s the marker of a generational player.
Where Does Sooryavanshi Go From Here?
RR won the Eliminator and advanced to Qualifier 2 against the loser of the RCB vs GT match. If Sooryavanshi keeps hitting at this rate, the 65-six record could grow even further before IPL 2026 ends.
After the IPL, he’s already been selected for the India A squad for the one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka. Senior team selectors are watching closely. At 15, a full India debut feels less like a question of “if” and more a question of “when.”
From the U-19 World Cup to IPL record books to dismantling international pace attacks in playoff pressure, Sooryavanshi isn’t just breaking Gayle’s records. He’s building a category entirely his own.
