Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old batting sensation from Rajasthan Royals, etched his name into Indian Premier League folklore once again. During Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 clash against Gujarat Titans at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, Sooryavanshi on Friday became the first batter in IPL history to score 500 or more runs in the powerplay across a single edition.
Entering the must-win clash with the weight of Rajasthan’s campaign on his young shoulders, Sooryavanshi needed to brave a fiery opening spell from GT’s bowling attack. He did just that, scoring 31 runs off 17 deliveries during the first six overs.
His strokeplay in the first six overs pushed his powerplay tally for the season to an unprecedented 521 runs, effortlessly eclipsing the previous all-time record held (467 runs in 2016) by legendary Australian opener David Warner.
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The Elite Powerplay Club
Sooryavanshi’s dominance in the first six overs in the ongoing IPL 2026 season has been nothing short of revolutionary, marked by a terrifying strike rate well above 200. To put his achievement into perspective, here is how he compares to the greatest powerplay campaigns in IPL history:
Most runs in Overs 1-6 in an IPL edition
521 – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in 2026 (SR: 233.63)
467 – David Warner in 2016 (SR: 150.16)
402 – Travis Head in 2024 (SR: 208.29)
402 – Sai Sudharsan in 2025 (SR: 155.81)
382 – Adam Gilchrist in 2009 (SR: 165.36)
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A Rescue Act Amid Early Collapse
The historic milestone for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi arrived at a moment of extreme vulnerability for the Rajasthan Royals. After RR captain Riyan Parag won the toss and opted to bat first, Gujarat Titans’ marquee pace duo of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada tore through the top order. Opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal fell for a mere 1 run in the very first over, and Dhruv Jurel was dismissed in the second.
With RR teetering at a precarious 2-wicket deficit within the first two overs, Sooryavanshi was forced to curb his usual hyper-aggressive instincts.
Showing maturity far beyond his 15 years, he anchored the recovery alongside an unexpected ally in Ravindra Jadeja, who was promoted to number 4. Despite the early damage, Sooryavanshi’s calculated counter-attack ensured the Royals still flew past the 70-run mark by the end of the powerplay.
Sooryavanshi eventually got out after scoring 96 off 47 and helped Rajasthan Royals post a challenging total of 214-6 in 20 overs.
Lineup For RR vs GT IPL 2026 Qualifier 2
Gujarat Titans Playing XI: B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj
Rajasthan Royals Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (captain), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, and Yash Raj Punja
GT Impact substitutes: Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, and Arshad Khan
RR Impact substitutes: Shubham Dubey, Sushant Mishra, Aman Rao Perala, Ravi Bishnoi, and Tushar Deshpande
The winner of this clash will meet Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final, to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
