‘Haters will say you’re not 15’ - Andre Russell’s Instagram story for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi wins hearts

One of the all-time greats of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Andre Russell, heaped praise on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after the youngster slammed a belligerent 97 off just 29 balls in the Eliminator between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday, May 27, in Mullanpur.

During his stunning knock, Sooryavanshi belted five fours and 12 sixes, finishing with a mind-boggling strike rate of 334.48. On the back of his blistering batting and Dhruv Jurel's 21-ball 50, the Royals finished on 243/8 after being invited to bat first. In reply, the Sunrisers were bowled out for 196 in 19.2 overs.

During the epic knock, Sooryavanshi broke Chris Gayle's record for the most sixes hit by a batter in an IPL season. The Caribbean stalwart had hit 59 sixes during IPL 2012. However, Sooryavanshi has already amassed 65 maximums and has at least one more match to play, which is Qualifier 2 against the Gujarat Titans on Friday, May 29.

Russell, who stands third on the list of batters with the most sixes in a single IPL season, shared a photo on his Instagram story lauding Sooryavanshi. Calling himself a “big fan," Russell also advised the youngster to disregard the haters, especially those questioning his real age.

Since last year, when Sooryavanshi burst onto the IPL scene and slammed a swashbuckling century against the Gujarat Titans, some people questioned his age. During the ongoing edition of the IPL, Sooryavanshi has amassed 680 runs in 15 innings at an average of 45.33 and a strike rate of 242.86.

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Coming to Qualifier 2, this all-important clash will be played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium. Sooryavanshi and the Royals would want to continue from where they left off in the last game. Interestingly, the inaugural champions have played four matches at this venue so far and won all of them.