Vaibhav Sooryavanshi earns Chris Gayle 'new six machine' mark after breaking IPL record

Universe boss Chris Gayle gave Indian teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the final seal after the Rajasthan Royals opener sensationally broke his iconic IPL record six-hit haul during the Eliminator match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Gayle, one of the greatest power-hitters in T20 history, hailed the 15-year-old as cricket’s “new six machine” after Sooryavanshi produced a breathtaking 97 off just 29 balls in Mullanpur on Wednesday. The RR youngster smashed 12 towering sixes and five fours at a staggering 334.48, leaving the cricket world stunned.

“What a phenomenal player Vaibhav is. Great fun young man! New Six machine,” Gayle wrote on social media after the match.

Sooryavanshi’s attack not only guided Rajasthan Royals to a massive 243 for 8 but also made him rewrite IPL history. His 12 sixes against Sunrisers Hyderabad took his tally to a high of 65 in IPL 2026, the most by any batsman in a single IPL season and also the highest in any T20 tournament.

in process surpassed Gayle’s long-standing record of 59 sixes set during his legendary 2012 IPL campaign with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. What made this feat even more remarkable was the speed at which the teenager achieved it. Gayle took 456 deliveries to reach his tally while Sooryavanshi needed only 266 balls.

The 15-year-old player came painfully close to another historic feat. He fell just three runs short of what would have been the fastest century in IPL history but Sooryavanshi later admitted that he had no idea about the milestone during his explosive innings.

“I met after the game,” he said at the post-game presentation when asked if he narrowly missed the record.

“My focus has been on hitting a six. I will score a century in the future but my focus is on scoring maximum runs for the team. I am working on my plan and if there are any flaws I try to work on it.”

Sooryavanshi also spoke about the fearless approach that made him the breakout star of IPL 2026.

“I just try to analyze how to face the bowlers, judge the length of the boundaries. When I show good intention, the bowler is under pressure,” he said.

“We won so we’ll celebrate and try to do well in the next game. I don’t think too much about the bowlers, try to play your game.”

Rajasthan Royals eventually beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs after bowling them out for 196 in 19.2 overs with Jofra Archer playing the ball. The win sealed RR’s place in Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans, but the night belonged to Sooryavanshi, whose outstanding performance earned praise from the original ‘Universe Boss’ himself.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

28 May 2026 01:23 IST