Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 97 and Jofra Archer’s 3 wickets helped Rajasthan Royals knock SRH out of IPL 2026 in Eliminator
New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs in the IPL 2026 Eliminator played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. RR delivered a strong all-round performance to secure a place in Qualifier 2 and stay alive in the race for the IPL trophy.
Batting first, Rajasthan Royals scored a huge total of 243/8 in 20 overs. Young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi played the innings of the match and completely dominated the SRH bowlers with his fearless batting.
Yashasvi Jaiswal gave RR a decent start by scoring 29 runs from 29 balls with the help of 4 boundaries. After that, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took control of the game with a sensational knock of 97 runs from only 29 balls. He smashed 5 fours and 12 sixes at a strike rate of more than 334 and entertained the crowd with his aggressive batting.
Dhruv Jurel also played a brilliant innings of 50 runs from just 21 balls. His knock included 5 fours and 3 sixes. Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag added 26 runs from 12 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes.
Donovan Ferreira scored 12 runs from 9 balls, while Dasun Shanaka made 5 runs from 3 deliveries. Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten on 12 runs from 9 balls. Jofra Archer scored 4 runs from 5 balls, Nandre Burger added 1 run, and Sushant Mishra stayed not out on 1 run.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, Praful Hinge was the most successful bowler and picked up 3 wickets. Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga and Nitish Kumar Reddy took 1 wicket each.
Archer Gives RR Perfect Start With The Ball
Chasing a huge target of 244 runs, Sunrisers Hyderabad needed a strong start, but Rajasthan Royals bowlers kept taking wickets at regular intervals.
Jofra Archer struck early and dismissed Abhishek Sharma for a duck after he faced 2 balls. Archer also removed Travis Head, who scored 17 runs from 8 deliveries with 2 fours and 1 six.
Ishan Kishan played an attacking innings and scored 33 runs from only 11 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes, but RR managed to stop him before he could play a bigger knock. Smaran Ravichandran scored just 1 run from 4 balls.
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Heinrich Klaasen made 18 runs from 10 balls, while Nitish Kumar Reddy fought hard and scored 38 runs from 20 deliveries with 3 boundaries and 2 sixes. Sanjay Arora also contributed 35 runs from 21 balls and hit 2 fours and 2 sixes.
SRH captain Pat Cummins could score only 1 run from 2 balls. Shivang Kumar added 27 runs from 24 balls, while Eshan Malinga scored 5 runs from 8 deliveries. Sakib Hussain remained unbeaten on 5 runs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad were eventually bowled out for 196 runs in 19.2 overs and lost the match by 47 runs.
RR Bowlers Shine In Big Match
Jofra Archer led the RR bowling attack brilliantly and picked up 3 important wickets. Nandre Burger bowled well and claimed 2 wickets. Ravindra Jadeja and Sushant Mishra also took 2 wickets each, while Yash Dayal picked up 1 wicket.
Rajasthan Royals looked in control throughout the match and dominated both with the bat and the ball. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s explosive batting and Jofra Archer’s fiery bowling spell helped RR move into Qualifier 2, where they will now face Gujarat Titans for a place in the IPL 2026 final.
