The IPL 2026 Eliminator on May 27 between SRH and RR saw a teenager make some of the best bowlers in the tournament look like ordinary club cricketers.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi is just 15 but he bats with the maturity of a veteran and ferocity as someone who is used to smashing the ball over the place. The southpaw slammed 97 from 29 balls and now it seems his knock was predicted when he was just three years old.
Jofra Archer's 'Prediction'
Confused? Don't be. Fans have dug up an old post of RR pacer Jofra Archer. The post on X or Twitter as it was known back in 2014 reads '97? Wtf'. Fan theories are linking it to Suryavanshi's current knock. The post is on August 4, 2014, when Vaibhav was a toddler.
© X/IPL
The Real Story
The context of course is not known. By Archer's own admission, he used to post a lot of random stuff as a teenager. This post has also been linked to Sanju Samson's 97 not out vs West Indies in the T20 World Cup Super 8s. India won to enter the semis and eventually won the tournament.
See What Jofra Archer Had Posted
Check out the post and see for yourself and look at the reactions as well:
Breaking One Record but Missing Another
Coming back to the game, Vaibhav broke Chris Gayle's record for the sixes in a single IPL season. Gayle had hit 59 in 2012 and Vaibhav has 65 with at least one game left in IPL 2026. Vaibhav missed out on Gayle's record for the fastest IPL 100. Gayle had done in 30 deliveries vs PWI in 2013. Vaibhav had made 97 from 28 when he fell trying to hit a boundary. If he had gotten the three runs needed, he would have broken the record. Gayle still holds the highest T20 score of 175 not out that happened in the same innings as his fastest century. Vaibhav has made his intentions apparent of not only breaking it but smashing the first T20 200.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi Could Become Youngest Orange Cap Winner
At the moment, the southpaw looks good to finish with the Orange Cap. It will make him the youngest and also 1st uncapped player in 18 years to win it. He so far has 680 runs in 15 innings at an average of 45.33 with a strike rate of 242.86. Add to that one 100 and four 50s. Not to mention a personal best of 103. Can he help RR end an 18-year title drought? They first have to get past GT in Qualifier 2. Then RCB await them in the final.