Elliott, the son of former Australia Test opener Matthew Elliott, entered Monday's match with just 15 wickets to his name from 10 List A matches and a best return of 4-26.
But he blew that out of the water by producing the best-ever one-day domestic bowling display by a Victorian, with his devastating seven-wicket haul skittling Tasmania for 126 in 30.1 overs.
Shaun Tait, who took 8-43 for South Australia against Tasmania at Adelaide Oval in 2004, still holds the record for Australian domestic one-day cricket.
But Elliott's haul ranks second, and will be remembered for years to come.
An incredible, record-breaking day out for Sam Elliott! — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) #OneDayCup See his seven-wicket haul here: https://t.co/EDrkaJyaYC pic.twitter.com/BENnuDi2bwSeptember 23, 2024
In reply, Victoria stumbled to 6-72 as Tasmania threatened to pull off a boilover.
But captain Will Sutherland (36 not out off 48 balls) and Elliott (19no off 28 balls) stepped up with an unbeaten 56-run stand to guide their side to victory in 26.5 overs, handing them a bonus point.
"I don't know how to describe it. It was one of those days where everything clicked," Elliott told reporters after the match.
"I just couldn't believe it. It felt like a bit of a blur, and then all the boys came in around me."
Elliott spent almost four months in Darwin during the off-season to work on his batting.
And during the pre-season, he discovered a need to increase the speed of his run-ups while bowling after encountering a few struggles.
Elliott says he has now changed his run-up speed from 21.5km/h to 24.5km/h, and the early results have been extremely promising.
Tasmania had been looking solid at 2-54 after 10 overs before Elliott sparked a collapse of 7-38.
Elliott struck with his first ball, catching the edge of Jordan Silk (seven) to gift wicketkeeper Sam Harper an easy catch.
Five balls later he had Jake Weatherald (31) caught behind, with Harper forced to dive this time to complete the dismissal.
Matthew Wade (eight) was Elliott's third victim when he was caught at point.
Jake Doran (one), Beau Webster (14), Tom Rogers (one) and Bradley Hope (14) also succumbed to Elliott as Tasmania crashed to 9-92 in the 23rd over.
Elliott had the remarkable figures of 7-8 off 6.2 overs at that stage.
HISTORY. — Victorian Cricket Team (@VicStateCricket) Congrats, Sammy #vicsdoitbetter pic.twitter.com/bhWnHjBwwHSeptember 23, 2024
One more scalp would have given Elliott the overall record for Australian one-day domestic cricket, but he wasn't able to dislodge tail-enders Gabe Bell (17) or Matt Kuhnemann (17no) with his next 10 deliveries.
Elliott was surprisingly pulled from the attack following his eighth over.
Bell and Kuhnemann put on 34 runs for the final wicket before evergreen veteran Peter Siddle (2-26) found the edge of Bell's bat to end the Tigers' innings.
That marked Harper's sixth catch of the match, but the day was all about Elliott, who revealed after the game that his dad missed out on watching his bowling heroics, but made it there in time to watch him bat.
Elliott, who has played just two first-class matches, now has his eyes set on cementing a spot in Victoria's powerful Sheffield Shield squad this summer.
BEST FIGURES IN AUSTRALIAN DOMESTIC ONE-DAY COMPETITION:
* 8-43 - Shaun Tait for South Australia v Tasmania, 2004
* 7-12 - Sam Elliott for Victoria v Tasmania, 2024
* 7-34 - Carl Rackemann for Queensland v South Australia, 1989
* 7-36 - Josh Hazlewood for NSW v South Australia, 2014
* 7-56 - Gurinder Sandhu for Tasmania v Victoria, 2018.
