Chandigarh [India], May 28 (ANI): Rajasthan Royals thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator clash of IPL 2026 at Mullanpur on Wednesday and took a step further towards their second IPL trophy. The winners of the first edition defeated Pat Cummins-led SRH by 47 runs in a run-fest here at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium.
The 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was at the centre of RR’s win again as he made a blistering 97 off just 29 balls with the help of 12 sixes and five fours, which helped his side post 243/8 in the knockout clash.
Dhruv Jurel, who also played a half-century knock, praised the teenager’s knock and said that the young batter backs himself and has not an iota of doubt in himself.
“Best thing about Vaibhav is that he doesn’t plan anything, because he practices a lot, and he always backs himself. That’s what he does every time he goes out and plays. So the best thing about him is that he backs himself and he doesn’t have that shadow of doubt that I’m not able to do it,” said Jurel in a post-match press conference.
Sooryavanshi went past West Indies icon Chris Gayle for most sixes in an IPL season with 65 sixes. When asked what makes Sooryavanshi special, Jurel said he doesn’t watch the bowler, but the ball.
“When you go to the academy, you are told not to watch the bowler, but the ball. And we, as a 17-year-old kid, we always used to watch the bowler. But he [Sooryavanshi] just watches the ball. That’s all his mantra. He doesn’t give a damn about any bowler. He just wants to play the ball. That’s all,” he said.
Jurel has been consistent for RR with the bat and has made 508 runs this season with the help of 46 fours and 24 sixes. His 50-run knock in the do-or-die clash against SRH came in just 21 balls and had three sixes and five fours.
Speaking about his performance this season, Jurel said, “T20 has become the toughest format because you can hit 240 or 250 and that’s not safe either. So I want to become a player who can play at any place, whether it is one down, open, at number three, five, seven, no matter what the situation is. I want to read the match and try to win the match.”
Talking about his role in the batting unit, he said, “My job is that whenever the openers are playing and if they’re playing beautifully, just try to build a partnership with them. If we hit from both ends, there’s a chance that the wicket can go. So my job is to steady the ship and build a partnership.”
He further added, “Because I don’t want my down middle order to play in the 11th or 12th over. I feel that I should have a partnership in the middle overs and that’s what I’ve been doing, so that in the end, I give a good platform to my down middle order batsmen to add big to the score.”
During the chase, SRH sunk to 57/4 in the powerplay itself, despite a brief counter-attack from Ishan Kishan (33 in 11 balls, with three fours and three sixes). Archer (3/58) and Burger (2/26) were central to RR’s success with the ball in the powerplay, skittling out SRH for just 196 in 19.2 overs.
Nitish Kumar Reddy (38 in 20 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Salil Arora (35 in 20 balls, with two fours and two sixes) put up a fight in the later stages with a 56-run sixth-wicket partnership, but Ravindra Jadeja (2/21) dimmed whatever little hope was left by removing both of them. Sooryavanshi was named as the ‘Player of the Match’ for his match-defining knock.
With this loss, SRH has been eliminated from the tournament, while Rajasthan Royals will battle Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 on Friday for a spot in the final against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). (ANI)
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