How Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stole the show at IPL 2026

The two superlatives that best capture the heroics of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the 2026 Indian Premier League are “fastest” and “youngest”. His profile on the official IPL website highlights a string of record-breaking feats. After becoming the youngest debutant in the league’s history last season, he blasted 101 off 38 balls against the Gujarat Titans to become the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket. The hundred came in just 35 deliveries, making it the second-fastest century in IPL history. Read Full Story Not only did he score the fastest century of the season, but his 15-ball half-century was also the second-fastest fifty of the just-concluded season. Remarkably, three of the five fifties he scored this year came off just 15 deliveries, while the fourth took only 16 balls. Already a formidable run-scoring machine, he finished the season with 72 sixes — an average of 4.5 per match — and 63 fours. Beyond Vaibhav’s exploits, the 2026 IPL may well be remembered as the season in which 200 ceased to be a daunting target. According to ANI, teams posted 200-plus totals 65 times in 74 matches, and those scores were successfully chased on 17 occasions. The batting dominance was reflected in the tournament’s average run rate, which climbed to 9.9 per over, up sharply from 7.7 in the IPL’s inaugural season. IPL has become a paradise for batters A total of 1,426 sixes were struck during the tournament, translating to an average of 19.3 per innings. The corresponding figure in the IPL's inaugural season was just 10.7. The near-doubling of that average over 18 years highlights the league's transformation into a batting powerhouse, where players like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma routinely make light work of even the best bowling attacks. The IPL has undergone a remarkable transformation across all major batting metrics, from scoring rates and boundary counts to the speed at which milestones are reached. In the inaugural season, the fastest fifty required 21 balls. In 2026, Chennai Super Kings' Urvil Patel needed just 13 deliveries to get there, highlighting the league's increasingly aggressive batting culture. The 2008 IPL saw Adam Gilchrist set the benchmark for the fastest century, achieving the milestone in 42 deliveries. In the 2026 edition, Vaibhav raised the bar even higher, racing to a century in just 35 balls. While records have fallen at a dizzying pace, fan interest has remained unwavering. According to a New York Times report, the final of the 2025 IPL was the most-watched match ever broadcast on Indian television, and ahead of the 2026 final, the tournament had already surpassed 1.1 billion viewers across television and digital platforms. Ends