Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lit up the 36th game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 with a stunning 36-ball hundred. It was the third fastest century in the Indian Premier League. But Rajasthan Royals still fell short against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Even in defeat, the 15-year-old left a strong mark. Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins could not hide his admiration.
“I think he’s my new favourite player,” Cummins said of Sooryavanshi.
“He hits the ball so hard, it’s great to watch, it’s good fun.
“You’ve got to be right on the money as a bowler, because if you’re not, it’s going a long way. So he’s impressive. Yeah, he’s had a great start to his career and yeah, I love the way he plays, takes the game on.”
Cummins felt the impact early. The first ball he bowled to the youngster went for six. That set the tone for a bold innings.
Sooryavanshi looked at ease against top bowlers. He faced names like Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Josh Hazlewood and Arshdeep Singh.
Cummins had just returned after rehab. He also spoke about the high scoring trend in the IPL. Saturday saw 986 runs across two matches.
“Look, maybe,” Cummins said of whether the tournament needed better bat-ball balance. “I think it’s just the way it is. The wickets might be flat, but it’s only 20 overs, you know, so it’s not a Test match where it’s flat and they’ve had a bat for five days, so I’m okay with that. It’s a maximum of four overs. Yeah, it’s fine. It is what it is.
“We set up our team, obviously, to try and go big on our batting, and as bowlers it’s up to us to try and minimise the runs. The scores look a little bit different to maybe a few years ago, but the concept’s still the same. Yeah, I don’t mind it.”
Cummins said flat pitches and strong batting line-ups are a test for bowlers. But he sees it as a challenge.
“It’s fine, it’s a good challenge,” Cummins said. “You know, you can have a bad couple of overs, but you feel like if you come back and bowl a really good death over, then that can be match winning. So I actually think in some ways it takes the pressure off us bowlers, knowing that our batting line-up can chase whatever, maybe the scores are going to be big.
“You feel like all four overs are super important, and you know, one wicket, one really good over can actually be as important as a good spell would be in a lower scoring game.
“It’s fine. It’s the same for both teams. I think you still need five really good bowlers. A lot of the time you’re still looking for an all-rounder. It means you can play an extra spinner or whatever, so I like it. I think you see more variety.”
