Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's remarkable 97 guided Rajasthan Royals to a 47-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League eliminator on Wednesday, keeping their hopes of reaching the final alive.
Chasing 244, Hyderabad fumbled in front of an incisive Rajasthan attack and were bowled out for 196 in 19.2 overs at a sparsely filled New PCA Stadium, ending their campaign on a disappointing note.
Put into bat, Sooryavanshi tore into the Hyderabad attack from the outset, with the 15-year-old smashing a 16-ball half-century and surpassing Chris Gayle's long-standing record for most sixes in a season.
He has now hit 65 sixes, eclipsing Gayle's 59 in 2012.
Opening alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sooryavanshi drove Rajasthan's charge as the pair raced to 80 without loss in the powerplay, leaving the Hyderabad bowlers struggling for control.
Sooryavanshi, the season's leading run-scorer, went on to hammer 97 off 29 balls, including five fours and 12 sixes, but fell short of breaking Gayle's fastest IPL century record of 30 balls.
Sooryavanshi miscued an upper cut to deep third, leaving him visibly dejected after the dismissal as Smaran Ravichandran completed the catch.
"I thought about it (the hundred) after I got out. At that time I was just focusing on contributing as much as I can," Sooryavanshi said after being named player of the match.
"Hundreds will come but the goal is to ensure how we win trophies."
Following the teen's dismissal, Dhruv Jurel (50 off 21) and captain Riyan Parag (26 off 12) tried to elevate the innings but Hyderabad's bowlers soon stemmed the run flow.
They conceded just 36 runs while taking five wickets in the final five overs, though Rajasthan still posted a formidable total.
Ishan Kishan and Travis Head attempted to set the tempo for Hyderabad, but scoreboard pressure told as they slumped to 71-4 in the powerplay, with Jofra Archer leading the charge.
Archer returned figures of 3-58, while Ravindra Jadeja, Nandre Burger and Sushant Mishra took two wickets each.
"We stayed on the right track for most of the innings; just lost probably a couple too many wickets at the wrong time, so it was always going to be tough," said Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins.
Rajasthan will play Gujarat Titans in qualifier two on Friday.
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