Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s explosive 97 in IPL playoffs misses fastest century by just three runs

In the IPL 2024 playoff match, young Gujarat Titans batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi delivered a performance that left the entire cricketing world stunned. He smashed a whirlwind 97 off just 29 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator. Though he fell agonisingly short—by three runs—of the IPL’s fastest-ever century, which would have eclipsed Chris Gayle’s long-standing 30-ball record set for Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2013. Suryavanshi’s dream was shattered when he top-edged a short ball from Praful Hinge to backward point, handing a simple catch to Samarth Ravi Chandran at third man.

Suryavanshi began his assault right from the first ball, smashing Pat Cummins for a six in the opening over. Every bowler who followed felt his fury: three sixes off Cummins’ second over and another three off Shahbaz Hussain’s spell. He reached his fifty in just 16 deliveries. In the eighth over, he again cleared the ropes thrice off Praful Hinge—only to be dismissed on the final ball of that over. His innings included 12 sixes and five fours, dismantling Hyderabad’s bowling line-up.