Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, boy wonder, scripts IPL history; Only batter with 300+ strike rate to...

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hit 78 off 26 balls as Rajasthan Royals beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to register a fourth straight win in IPL 2026 on Friday. He also matched his own record for the fastest fifty of the season. Sooryavanshi reached his half-century in 15 balls, hitting eight fours and seven sixes. His innings, at a strike rate close to 300, took Rajasthan Royals to 129 for two in 8.1 overs in a chase of 202. "I just try to replicate what I do in practice and try not to do extra. I back my natural game," said Sooryavanshi after the game.

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Earlier, he had also scored a 15-ball fifty in the team’s opening match against Chennai Super Kings. In that game, he made 52 off 17 balls with four fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 305.88. With two scores of fifty or more at a strike rate of 300 or above, Sooryavanshi has become the only player in IPL history to record multiple half-centuries at that strike rate after the completion of innings (whether out or not out). Overall, there have been seven instances of batters scoring a half-century at a strike rate of 300 or more, and Sooryavanshi is the only player to appear twice on that list. Romario Shepherd leads the list with 53 off 16 balls at a strike rate of 378.57, which came against Chennai Super Kings last year at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Batters with multiple 300+ strike-rate fifties in IPL after the completion of innings

PlayerRunsBFSROppositionGroundStart DateR Shepherd (RCB)53*16378.57v CSKBengaluru3 May 2025PJ Cummins (KKR)56*19373.33v MIPune6 Apr 2022J Fraser-McGurk (DC)6528361.11v SRHDelhi20 Apr 2024SK Raina (CSK8725348v Kings XIWankhede30 May 2014YK Pathan (KKR)7222327.27v SRHEden Gardens24 May 2014N Pooran (LSG)6219326.31v RCBBengaluru10 Apr 2023KL Rahul (KXIP)5116318.75v DaredevilsMohali8 Apr 2018SP Narine (KKR)5417317.64v RCBBengaluru7 May 2017J Fraser-McGurk (DC)8427311.11v MIDelhi27 Apr 2024V Sooryavanshi (RR)5217305.88v CSKGuwahati30 Mar 2026KA Pollard (MI)51*17300v KKRWankhede28 Apr 2016V Sooryavanshi (RR)7826300v RCBGuwahati10 Apr 2026

Sooryavanshi is also the youngest player in T20 cricket to score a half-century at a strike rate of 300 or more in a completed innings. He first did it at the age of 14 years and 232 days for India A in November 2025, then against Chennai Super Kings in Rajasthan Royals’ first match this season at 15 years and 3 days, and again against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at 15 years and 14 days.

Youngest players in all of T20 to register a half-century (completed innings) with a strike-rate of 300 or more

PlayerRunsBFSRAgeOppositionStart DateV Sooryavanshi (India A)14442342.8514y 232dv U.A.E.14 Nov 2025V Sooryavanshi (Rajasthan Royals)5217305.8815y 3dv CSK30 Mar 2026V Sooryavanshi (Rajasthan Royals)782630015y 14dv RCB10 Apr 2026YS Samra (Canada)50*15333.3318y 262dv Bahamas18 Jun 2025RR Pant (Delhi)116*38305.2620y 102dv Himachal14 Jan 2018Hazratullah Zazai (Kabul Zwanan)6217364.720y 205dv Legends14 Oct 2018JG Bethell (Birmingham Bears)56*1635020y 241dv Northants20 Jun 2024MJ Guptill (Auckland)5518305.5521y 122dv Central D30 Jan 2008RK Singh (Uttar Pradesh)52*1632521y 135dv Tripura24 Feb 2019LRPL Taylor (Central Districts)662230021y 325dv Otago27 Jan 2006

The top three spots in this list are all held by Sooryavanshi. Canada’s Yuvraj Singh Samra is fourth, having scored a 15-ball fifty against the Bahamas last year at the age of 18 years and 262 days.

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