A sensational 97 in 29 balls from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and exceptional bowling performances from Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger helped Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 47 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator at Mullanpur on Wednesday.
With this loss, SRH has been eliminated from the tournament, while Rajasthan Royals will battle Gujarat Titans in Qualifier two on Friday for a spot in the final against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). After GT was put to bat first by SRH, Sooryavanshi (97 in 29 balls, with five fours and 12 sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (50 in 21 balls, with five fours and three sixes) played magnificent knocks as RR marched to 243/8 in 20 overs. 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, skittling out SRH for just 196 in 19.2 overs.
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RR vs SRH Eliminator Match Highlights
Chasing 244, Jofra Archer struck for RR on the second ball, getting Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck. SRH was 0/1 in 0.2 overs. Ishan Kishan ended the over with a counter-attack, hitting Archer for two fours and a six.
Travis also got a four and six off Nandre Burger before Kishan once again smashed Archer for a six and two fours to start the third over. However, Archer struck again, breaking the 50-run stand to remove Kishan for a 11-ball 33, with three fours and sixes each. SRH was 51/2 in 2.5 overs.
The Burger-Archer duo continued to trouble SRH, dismissing Smaran Ravichandran for just one. SRH were 52/3 in 3.3 overs.
Archer continued to make merry, removing Head for an eight-ball 17 in the fifth over, with SRH down at 57/4 in 4.4 overs.
At the end of six overs, SRH were 71/4, with Heinrich Klaasen (11*) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (3*) unbeaten.
Heinrich and Nitish tried building a partnership, but Yash Raj Punja stopped Klaasen with a sensational lbw dismissal for just 18 in 10 balls. Half of the SRH side was down at 83 runs in 6.5 overs.
Nitish Kumar Reddy continued to fight, picking two fours against Sushant Mishra in the eighth over and two fours and a six against Yash Raj in the next, bringing up SRH's 100-run mark in 8.3 overs.
Salil Arora at the other end, also carted Brijesh Sharma for two fours and a six in the 10th over, bringing up the 50-run stand in 18 balls. At the end of 10 overs, SRH was 132/5, with Nitish Kumar (35*) and Salil (20*) unbeaten.
The 56-run stand was ended by Ravindra Jadeja, who got Nitish caught for 20-ball 38 by Dasun Shanaka at deep mid-wicket, with three fours and two sixes. SRH was 137/6 in 10.5 overs. In the next over, Sushant got Pat Cummins for one in two balls, reducing SRH to 139/7 in 11.1 overs.
SRH reached the 150-run mark in 13.2 overs. Another partnership was cut short at 24 runs by Jadeja, who removed Salil for a 21-ball 35 with two fours and two sixes. SRH was 163/8 in 14.4 overs.
Shivang Kumar and Eshan Malinga carried the chase forward, with Shivang playing some fine shots. However, Burger got his second wicket, removing Eshan for just five. SRH was 187/9 in 17.3 overs.
Sushant Mishra took the final wicket of SRH, removing Shivang Kumar for 27, with a fantastic catch from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. SRH was all out for 196 in 19.2 overs.
Archer (3/58) and Burger (2/26) were sensational with the ball. Sushant Mishra and Jadeja also got two wickets.
RR Won IPL 2026 Eliminator Match
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi delivered a breathtaking masterclass, smashing a sensational 29-ball 97 to power RR to a commanding total of 243/8.
The 15-year-old sensation set the tone early with fearless strokeplay and explosive hitting, racing to a rapid half-century and keeping the innings at a blistering pace throughout his stay at the crease.
Asked to bat first, Rajasthan got off to a flying start. In the third over, Sooryavanshi smashed 23 runs off SRH skipper Pat Cummins, including a hat-trick of sixes, taking RR to 45/0.
RR reached the 50-run mark in 3.2 overs courtesy a Sooryavanshi six against Sakib Hussain. He continued his explosive batting in the next over, bringing up a blistering half-century off just 16 balls as Rajasthan raced to 63/0, with Sakib taken down for three sixes.
The momentum carried through the rest of the powerplay, with the Royals finishing at a dominant 80/0 after six overs, with Sooryavanshi (60*) and Jaiswal (19*) unbeaten.
During his stunning assault, Sooryavanshi also broke the record for most sixes in an IPL season, surpassing the previous mark of 59 held by Chris Gayle.
Sooryavanshi made an absolute meal out of Praful Hinge, smashing him for three sixes and two fours. During the final ball of the eighth over pacer Hinge claimed the big wicket of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who fell just three runs short of what would have been the fastest century in IPL history. RR was 125/1 in eight overs, having reached the 100-run mark in 7.2 overs.
The Royals opener had smashed a sensational 29-ball 97, featuring five fours and 12 massive sixes, before his dismissal.
Sooryavanshi's explosive knock had already put the Royals in a commanding position, helping them race to 136/1 at the halfway stage of the innings.
In the second delivery of the 11th over, spinner Shivang Kumar dismissed struggling Yashasvi Jaiswal, who managed a run-a-ball 29, including four boundaries. RR was 137/2 in 10.2 overs. Despite the wicket, the Royals crossed the 150-run mark by the end of the over, courtesy of two sixes from Dhruv Jurel, who had just arrived.
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In the next over, bowled by SRH skipper Pat Cummins, wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel took charge, smashing 17 runs, including two fours and a six as RR surged to 168/2. Jurel then brought up a quickfire half-century off just 20 balls during the fourth delivery of the 14th over.
However, he fell immediately after reaching the milestone, with Praful Hinge striking on the very next ball. Jurel departed for a 21-ball 50, which included five fours and three sixes. RR was 192/3 in 13.5 overs.
Rajasthan continued their aggressive charge, crossing the 200-run mark and reaching 207/3 after 15 overs.
In the second ball of the 16th over, Hinge struck again, removing skipper Riyan Parag, who made a quick 12-ball 26 featuring two fours and two sixes, as RR moved to 214/4.
Towards the end, Rajasthan ended up losing wickets in clusters. Donovan Ferreira (12), Dasun Shanaka (5), Jofra Archer (4), Nandre Burger (1), and Ravindra Jadeja (12*) as the Royals ended up scoring 243/8 in 20 overs.
Brief Scores: RR: 243/8 (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 97, Dhruv Jurel 50, Praful Hinge 3/54) beat SRH: 196 in 19.2 overs (Salil Arora 35, Ishan Kishan 33, Jofra Archer 3/58).
For Hyderabad, Praful (3/54) took a three-wicket haul. Eshan Malinga (1/40), Shivang (1/19), and Nitish Reddy (1/12) were also among the wicket takers.
With inputs from ANI
