Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Teen batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi revealed the chat he had with his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal in the dressing room after Rajasthan Royals were put in to bat by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday. The two young batters had a clear intent going in, and the same approach was reflected in their aggressive start – though in a far more brutal fashion than expected by the opposition.Yashasvi Jaiswal fell for 10 runs, but Sooryavanshi kept the promise made inside the dressing room. He smashed 103 off 37 balls for his second IPL century, hitting five fours and 12 sixes on his way to the milestone.He also brought up 1,000 runs in T20 cricket in just 473 balls faced. The previous fastest record was held by Australia’s Mitchell Owen, who reached the mark in 533 balls.Sooryavanshi’s hundred was the third-fastest in IPL history, behind Chris Gayle’s 30-ball century in 2013 and his own 35-ball hundred last season. However, despite his explosive knock, Rajasthan Royals’ total of 228 was eventually chased down by Sunrisers Hyderabad.“Jab hum toss jeet kar andar gaye, toh Yash bhai ne bola, ‘Vaibhav aaj jaake maarte hain yaar.’ Toh maine bhi bola, ‘Haan, aaj jaake maarte hain. Aaj kuch nahi karenge, sirf chakke maarenge [When we won the toss and went inside, Yash bhai said, ‘Vaibhav, today let’s go out and attack.’ So I also said, ‘Yes, let’s go out and attack. Today we won’t do anything else, we will only hit sixes],” Sooryavanshi said, recalling the dressing-room chat with Jaiswal.Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins was also full of praise for the young batter.“I think he’s my new favourite player,” Cummins, who has bowled to the best batters in the world and claimed 315 Test wickets, told reporters.“He hits the ball so hard, it’s great to watch. It’s good fun. You’ve got to be right on the money as a bowler because if you’re not, it’s going a long way. He’s impressive.”Cummins added: “He’s had a great start to his career. I love the way he plays. It takes the game on.”Sooryavanshi has been in blazing form in IPL 2026, scoring 357 runs so far, including two 15-ball fifties at a strike rate of 234.86 in eight matches.“It’s a no-brainer… he is the most destructive Indian T20 opener,” former England captain Michael Vaughan wrote on X.The teenager has also taken on world-class bowlers, including Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah of Mumbai Indians, even smashing him for a six over wide long-on in their first meeting earlier this month.His performances have sparked growing calls for him to be fast-tracked into the senior India team.
