Every team in this IPL has tried to figure out Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Every team has sat in a meeting room, watched footage, made plans, and walked onto the field with something that looked like a solution to the carnage of a 15-year-old. On Wednesday night in New Chandigarh, Sunrisers Hyderabad tried harder than most. They won the toss. They chose to bowl. They deployed Pat Cummins and Eshan Malinga in the powerplay, going full and straight, with fielders stationed in front of square on the leg side specifically to block his favorite scoring areas.
Sooryavanshi scored 97 off 29 balls anyway.
Rajasthan Royals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs in the IPL 2026.
Eliminator at New Chandigarh, and it will now face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2. SRH, who had beaten RR in both their league-stage meetings this season and finished the league phase in third place, is out of the tournament.
The Innings That Ended the Game Before It Started
SRH went with something like death bowling in the powerplay, with Cummins and Malinga attempting to go full and straight and deny Sooryavanshi any leeway, with outfielders stationed in front of square on the leg side. It was a plan to contain any variable, but Sooryavanshi still did his thing, and SRH failed to stop him.
Sooryavanshi brought up his half-century in just 16 balls and kept going. Over cover, over long-off, a pull-behind square that nearly took Sakib Hussain’s head off. Every bowler who ran in at him had a different plan. Every plan lasted approximately one delivery.
He was finally dismissed by Praful Hinge for 97 off 29 balls, three runs short of what would have been his third IPL century. With the dismissal, Sooryavanshi also broke the record for the most sixes in a single IPL season, surpassing Chris Gayle. RR was 125 for 1 at the ninth over when he was dismissed.
After the match, Jofra Archer was asked how to bowl at Sooryavanshi. He smiled and said, “I’ll tell you after the IPL.”
Pat Cummins, asked the same question from the other side, was equally honest: “The margins are so small. “You miss your yorker, and he doesn’t miss.”
Jaiswal, Jurel and the Total
Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 29 off 28 balls, a useful contribution but one that will feel like a quiet night given what happened at the other end. When he was dismissed, RR was 137 for 2, and the innings needed rebuilding.
Dhruv Jurel steadied things with his sixth fifty of the season, also entering the elite of 500+ run scorers in a season, but this one was his most valuable. It featured a scooped four over fine off Cummins and an uppercut six off Hinge to bring up his half-century in 20 balls. Riyan Parag added a late cameo, and RR finished on 243 for 8. Praful Hinge was SRH’s standout bowler with 3 for 54.
Archer Dismantles SRH’s Top Three
Chasing 244, SRH needed their top order to fire from the first ball. They did not get the chance.
Jofra Archer removed Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Ishan Kishan, the destructive trio, in a spell that was described as a truly special display against one of the most dangerous top threes in all T20 cricket. He had Abhishek with a bouncer, then dismissed both Head and Kishan in different overs, who had briefly threatened with a second-wicket stand of 51 off 15 balls.
Once that partnership was broken, the chase had no direction. Salil Arora scored 35 off 21 balls to provide some resistance lower down and was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja. Nandre Burger took two wickets as SRH’s lower order folded, and they were bowled out for 196 in 19.2 overs, 47 runs short.
What Comes Next
RR faces Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 on Friday at Ahmedabad. GT’s home ground. RR have never lost a game in New Chandigarh this season, but Ahmedabad is a different proposition. Whoever wins goes to the final to face RCB.
For SRH, a season that had every reason to end differently is over. They had the best opening partnership in the competition. They had Klaasen finishing games in the back half of the innings. They had Cummins as captain. They won five games in a row in the middle of the season. And they still could not find an answer to a 15-year-old with a 29-ball 97 in a knockout match.
Nobody has yet. The IPL final is two games away for Sooryavanshi. He does not look like he is about to slow down anytime soon.
