Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, take a bow! Is there anything this lad can’t do? If scoring the fastest Indian Premier League (IPL) hundred (as an Indian) wasn’t enough, he has hit the quickest fifty in all of List-A history. Following his altercation with Sri Lanka A players a few days ago, the 15-year-old has batted like a wounded lion to create a world record. He clubbed his second List-A fifty in a mere 11 balls, going past the previous record set by Sri Lanka’s own Kaushalya Weeraratne back in 2005.
Fans thought that the IPL 2026 version of Sooryavanshi was mind-blowing but what we saw in the tri-series final in Dambulla was the most dangerous version of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) star. With a vengance on his mind, after failing to take his side over the line in a Super Over last time around, he just smashed everything out of the park.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi becomes Indian with fastest 50 in history
Right from ball one, he put the foot on the sixth gear. Playing just one dot ball in his first 11 deliveries, Sooryavanshi smashed five fours and as many sixes en route to a magical fifty. The intention from Sooryavanshi to smash everything with utter disdain. No matter where the Lankan bowlers bowled, if they erred a tad bit, the youngster, who is dubbed as the ‘Universal baby boss’, bludgeoned for boundaries.
Fastest List-A fifty in history
| Balls Faced | Batter | Match | Venue | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | India A vs Sri Lanka A | Dambulla | 2026 |
| 12 | Kaushalya Weeraratne | Ragama Cricket Club vs Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club | Thurstan College Ground, Colombo | 2005 |
| 13 | Thisara Perera | Sri Lanka Army Sports Club vs Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club | Army Ground, Panagoda | 2021 |
| 14 | Rory Kleinveldt | Western Province vs KwaZulu-Natal | Sahara Stadium, Kingsmead, Durban | 2010/11 |
Interestingly, Sooryavanshi now has the joint-fastest fifty as an Indian. In India’s 100-year-old history, no other player ever hit a half-century in fewer balls. But Sooryavanshi has done it, equalling the record of an 11-ball fifty, which was previously hit by Ashutosh Sharma and Akash Choudhary.
Sooryavanshi has officially gone past Yuvraj Singh’s record, who smashed a 12-ball fifty during his epic six sixes in an over innings at the 2007 T20 World Cup against England. While it was a T20 international, Sooryavanshi has done it in a 50-over game for India A.
In List-A cricket, the previous fastest Indian to score a fifty was Sarfaraz Khan, who hammered a 15-ball fifty at the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai against Punjab. Sarfaraz broke the record jointly held by Maharashtra’s Abhijit Kale and Baroda allrounder Atit Sheth, who both took 16 balls.
Fastest 50 by an Indian (in any competitive cricket)
- 11 balls – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (List-A)
- 11 balls – Ashutosh Sharma (T20)
- 11 balls – Akash Choudhary (First-class)
- 12 balls – Yuvraj Singh (T20I)
- 12 balls – Abhishek Sharma (T20)
- 13 balls – Yashasvi Jaiswal (T20)
- 13 balls – Urvil Patel (T20)
Sooryavanshi falls before fastest List-A hundred
Following the fastest fifty, he was in touching distance to also hammer the record for fastest List-A century as well. At just 15, Sooryavanshi came within one swing of history and still left everyone speechless. The left-hander blitzed 94 off only 29 balls in the Sri Lanka A Tri-Series final on Sunday.
Ten fours, eight sixes, 88 of his runs in boundaries. Sri Lanka A won the toss and chose to bowl, then spent the next nine overs watching their plan get dismantled. He reached fifty in 11 balls, the fastest half-century in List A cricket. From there, the world record was suddenly in sight.
Jake Fraser-McGurk’s 29-ball hundred for South Australia is still the List A benchmark. Sooryavanshi was 94 off 28. One six off ball 29 and he’d have matched it. He tried. Cleared his front leg, aimed over cover again, but this time he got too much of it. Mid-off took the catch, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, off off-spinner Sahan Arachchige.
India A were 132/1 in 8.5 overs. He didn’t get a hundred, but the knock will be remembered for a long time. By the time the scoreboard read 141/2 in 10.2 overs, Priyansh Arya had chipped in with 39 off 29 before falling to Samudith.
