While Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again produced a stunning knock for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026, it was what happened after his dismissal that got fans talking online.
The young batter played a brilliant innings of 96 runs against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 at Mullanpur. However, after missing out on a century by just four runs, he looked visibly upset as he returned to the dugout.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Breaks Down In Tears After Rajasthan Royals Miss Out On IPL 2026 Final
RR captain Riyan Parag on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Soon after, TV cameras showed Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag having an animated conversation with the 15-year-old. The clip quickly went viral on social media, with many fans wondering whether Parag was encouraging the youngster or discussing the dismissal with him.
It was another heartbreaking near-miss for Sooryavanshi. In fact, this was the third time in his last four IPL innings that he was dismissed in the nineties. He had also fallen short of a century in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he scored a sensational 97 off just 29 balls.
RR's batting vs GT
This time, things were not easy from the start. Gujarat Titans bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada kept things tight early on and did not allow Sooryavanshi to play his usual attacking game. He had to wait until his 13th ball to hit his first six, which is quite unusual for him.
Rajasthan also lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 1 and Dhruv Jurel for 7, giving Gujarat an early advantage.
But Sooryavanshi stayed calm and slowly turned the game around. A 21-run over against Siraj helped him break free and put the pressure back on the opposition. He reached his half-century in 31 balls, which was actually the slowest fifty of his IPL career.
After that, he completely changed gears. With Ravindra Jadeja providing support at the other end, Sooryavanshi went on a scoring spree, smashing 46 runs off his next 15 deliveries and racing into the nineties.
Sooryavanshi's record in IPL 2026
During the innings, he also achieved some remarkable milestones. He became the fastest player to reach 1,000 IPL runs in terms of balls faced, getting there in only 440 deliveries. He also became the first batter in T20 history to score 500 powerplay runs in a single tournament.
A century looked almost certain as he moved closer to the landmark. But just when fans were expecting him to reach three figures, he was dismissed for 96 off 47 balls.
The dismissal left the crowd stunned and the youngster disappointed. It also placed him in a unique IPL list, as he became only the fifth player in tournament history to be dismissed in the nineties three times, joining KL Rahul, David Warner, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Glenn Maxwell.