'Vaibhav Suryavanshi is pure magic' - Irfan Pathan lauds RR's wonderkid after Eliminator heroics

Published - 27 May 2026, 20:52 IST | Updated - 27 May 2026, 21:18 IST

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi played another breathtaking knock on Wednesday, May 27, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh in the Eliminator in IPL (Indian Premier League) 2026.

After Pat Cummins won the toss for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and opted to field first, it was time for the Sooryavanshi show. The left-handed batter took the SRH bowlers to the cleaners with his scintillating display of stroke play. He cut loose in the third over, hitting one four and three sixes against Pat Cummins. Sooryavanshi hit three more sixes in the following over and raced to a 16-ball half-century.

Sooryavanshi was eventually dismissed for 97 off 29 balls, narrowly missing out on Chris Gayle's record for the fastest century in the IPL.

Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Sooryavanshi after the southpaw played the jaw-dropping knock on Wednesday. The Tajpur-born took his sixes tally to 65 in IPL 2026, breaking the previous record for the most maximums in a season. Pathan said that achieving this feat at the age of just 15 is a mind-boggling feat.

"Becoming the highest six-hitter in an IPL season at just 15 years old is unreal. Something we’ve never seen before. Vaibhav Suryavanshi is pure magic," Pathan wrote on his official 'X' (formerly Twitter) handle.

Sooryavanshi also climbed to the top of the list for the leading run-getters this season. In 15 innings, he has amassed 680 runs at an average of 41.64 and a strike rate of 242.86. He has gone 28 runs ahead of Sai Sudharsan, who is now second on the list.

IPL 2026: Why is Harshal Patel not playing in SRH vs RR?

On the back of Sooryavanshi's blistering knock, Rajasthan seems set to post a massive total in the first innings. Dhruv Jurel also smashed a 20-ball half-century, making matters worse for SRH.