Vaibhav Sooryavanshi produced a sensational performance in the IPL 2026 Eliminator, smashing 97 runs off just 29 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in New Chandigarh. His explosive innings powered Rajasthan Royals (RR) into Qualifier 2.

Cummins Struggles Against Sooryavanshi

SRH captain Pat Cummins, who opened the bowling and came under heavy attack, admitted that the 15-year-old batter left bowlers with very few options. Sooryavanshi scored 31 runs off Cummins alone.

Cummins started with a plan of bowling yorkers to control the damage. Sooryavanshi defended the first ball and took a single off the next. But when Cummins missed his yorker later, Sooryavanshi punished him with a clean lofted six down the ground.

In the next over, the young batter completely dominated Cummins. He smashed him for 4, 6, 6, 6, with a wide delivery in between.

After the match, Cummins praised the innings and admitted how difficult it was to bowl in that situation.

“Yeah, he played pretty well. [You] don't feel like you have too many options,” Cummins said. “Obviously, it's a really good pitch, but the margins are so small you know. You miss your yorker by a little bit [and] he doesn't tend to miss them. So yeah fair play.”

Archer Praises His Big-Hitting Ability

Jofra Archer also praised Sooryavanshi’s fearless batting and said he is capable of scoring huge totals in T20 cricket. “It was very exciting. The more runs he scores, the more runs we have to defend, so he can go on and get 150. It's good for the boys when he gets a lot of runs,” Archer said.

RR Captain Gives Him Freedom

Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag said the team avoids putting pressure on the young batter and allows him to play freely.

“That's the thing we don't have any conversations,” Parag said at the post-match presentation. “Yeah just leave him alone, let him go and have fun. He likes batting like I've said before so we get him a lot of batting practice at the nets and stuff like that and then he goes out and does his thing.”

RR Cruise Into Qualifier 2

Sooryavanshi’s explosive knock helped RR post a massive total of 243/8. Jofra Archer then struck early with three wickets to restrict SRH to 196.

With this win, Rajasthan Royals booked their place in Qualifier 2, where they will face Gujarat Titans again in New Chandigarh. RR have been dominant at this venue with four wins in four matches.