Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s extraordinary IPL 2026 journey came to a heartbreaking end on Friday night as Rajasthan Royals were knocked out of the tournament following a defeat to Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 at Mullanpur. The loss ended RR’s campaign, while Gujarat Titans secured a place in the final, where they will face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday.
A visibly emotional Sooryavanshi was seen sitting in the dugout after the match, receiving words of comfort from a member of the support staff as Rajasthan’s hopes of reaching the title clash slipped away.
The 15-year-old once again produced a stunning performance, falling just four runs short of a century after playing a breathtaking knock that helped Rajasthan Royals post a formidable total. However, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill responded with a magnificent century of his own, leading from the front in a comfortable seven-wicket win that sealed GT’s place in the final.
In a season featuring some of the best T20 players from around the world, Sooryavanshi emerged as one of the tournament’s biggest stars. Despite being only 15 years old, he fearlessly took on world-class bowling attacks and finished the season with a remarkable 776 runs, earning widespread praise for his aggressive strokeplay, consistency and maturity beyond his years.
What made his campaign even more special was the manner in which he scored those runs. Sooryavanshi ended the season with an astonishing strike rate of 237.31 and smashed a record-breaking 72 sixes — the most by any batter in a single IPL season. The gap between him and the rest of the field was significant, with Abhishek Sharma finishing second with 43 sixes, followed by RCB captain Rajat Patidar with 41.
The teenage sensation concluded his memorable IPL 2026 campaign with one century and three scores in the nineties, underlining a breakthrough season that firmly established him as one of the most exciting young talents in world cricket.
