SRH vs RR

Who will join RCB in the Grand Finale? GT and RR will fight it out now in New Chandigarh itself after a day's gap, that promises to be yet another enthralling fixture. But what we have seen tonight will take some time to process, RR fans and dare I say Indian fans will sleep with a broad smile on their faces with what the 15-year old enigma Vaibhav Sooryavashi has done. We will meet you day after tomorrow with the action once again, for now this is Sourabh Agrawal signing off on behalf of Pradeep and the rest of the team. Cheers!

No prizes for guessing, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the Player of the Match for his otherworldly performance tonight, this is what he had to say: We have won so need to move on with the same positive intent and try to do well in the next game as well. I don't think too much about the bowlers, if there is something that I need to work on I do that rather than thinking about the opposition

(what does he visualise before the game?) I think about the bowlers and what plans I can have against them. I try to play with good intent and put the pressure on the bowlers. (Missing out on the fastest IPL century) I was not aware of it before getting out, I was not thinking about that and the focus right now is winning trophies, I can get centuries later on as well

Riyan Parag (RR captain): Good game, I like to be a perfectionist. I know it is not going to be a perfect game but even today we should have got 260 with the start we got from Vaibhav, got to work on that. With the ball, very impressed. Ishan and Head hit a few boudaries but we came back really well and held our own. (coversations with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi) That is the thing, we do not have any conversations. He loves batting, as I have said before and we just provide him with that. (playing must win games) It brings out more out of people with everything on the line, people turn up more. We keep having some banter, after the first ball he bowled to Abhishek, it was almost a catch for me, I went up to him and said Jof I need you to be straighter, after the wicket on the next ball he came up to me and said is that straight enough for you. He is one of the best, if not the best in the world and when he is bowling at 150 clicks he does his job. Rest tomorrow, I will be recovering, won't be practicing for sure and then GT next

Jofra Archer [Rajasthan Royals]: [On his bowling performance in the Eliminator]“Honestly, apart from the figures, I thought I bowled pretty well tonight, and I felt all the bowlers did a solid job. We stuck to our plans, hit our lengths consistently, and eventually got rewarded for it.”[On striking early with the ball]“In T20 cricket, the team that takes the most wickets in the powerplay usually ends up ahead in the game. There’s always pressure bowling against attacking batters early on, but I enjoy taking that responsibility and trying to deliver for the team.”[On bowling to aggressive powerplay batters]“You’ve just got to trust your nerve. Against players like that, even good balls can disappear for boundaries, and bad balls definitely will. So the key is to stay in the contest mentally and keep thinking about taking wickets because simply trying to survive those overs rarely works.”[On watching Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s explosive innings from the dugout]“It was incredible to watch. The more runs he scores, the happier the bowlers are because it gives us more to defend. Honestly, if he goes on to score 150, we’ll gladly take it every time.”[On bowling to Vaibhav in the nets]“Yes, sometimes I do bowl to him in the nets — but where exactly I bowl to him, I’ll reveal that after the IPL.”[On RR building momentum at the right time]“We’re taking it one game at a time, but I do think we’re moving in the right direction at the perfect stage of the tournament. The best thing for us right now is that everyone is contributing in different moments, and that’s what strong teams need heading into the business end of the competition.”

Pat Cummins [Sunrisers Hyderabad captain]: [On Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s explosive innings]“He played exceptionally well. On a pitch like that, the margins for bowlers were extremely small. If you missed your yorker even slightly, he made sure you paid for it. Credit to him, it was a special innings under pressure.”[On the decision to chase in the Eliminator]“No real regrets about chasing. It was a very good batting wicket right through the game, even towards the end. Conditions were excellent for stroke play, so I still think it was the right call.”[On the growth of the squad and emergence of young players]“I think we’ve developed into a really well-rounded side. Young players like Prappal and Sakib were outstanding despite not having a lot of experience. I saw a stat saying we’re one of the youngest teams ever to make the playoffs, which speaks volumes about the talent this franchise and coaching group have identified and backed.”[On staying alive in the chase despite the massive target]“Chasing 240 was always going to need a lot of things to go right, but if there was any ground and pitch where it was possible, it was probably this one. We stayed close to the required rate for most of the innings, but losing a few wickets at crucial moments made the chase difficult in the end.”[On the team’s overall campaign]“I’m really proud of the group. We were probably just one step away from even finishing in the top two. The boys have been fantastic throughout the season — the attitude, the energy, and the way they’ve enjoyed their cricket has been brilliant to watch. As a captain, that’s all you can ask for.”

11:24 PM local time and IST: MATCH SUMMARY

Rajasthan Royals (243/8 in 20 overs) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (196 all-out in 19.2 overs) by 47 runs

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 97(29) | Jofra Archer 3/58(4)
Nitish Kumar Reddy 38(20) | Praful Hinge 3/54(4)

How fitting it is that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi picks up the final catch to seal the deal for Rajasthan Royals who have booked their places alongside Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 after a day's gap at the same venue as tonight! A spirited effort from SRH, a spirited campign in Orange but it has come to an end tonight with RR for the first time after April 2023 and what a night they have chosen to get the win

The storm named Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, an unprecedented 97 off 29 for the 15-year old breaking multiple massive records in the process, took centerstage tonight in New Chandigarh and it hit the men in orange in a way that it was pretty much impossible for them to revover from there on. Credits to SRH for "keeping it down" to 243, yes how much ever freakish it may sound but SRH pegged things back with the ball giving away just 36 runs in the last 5 overs and kept the total to 243

Chasing 244, SRH needed pretty much a perfect start but in front of them was another storm named Jofra Archer who landed the first blow by getting rid of Abhishek Sharma for a duck on just the second ball of the run chase. Ishan Kishan came out like a man possessed, smashed 33 off his first 9 balls as SRH crossed 50 runs in the 3rd over before that man Archer landed another blow and then another removing both Kishan and Head as SRH lost 4 wickets in the powerplay and the run chase was pretty much done by then

SRH kept smashing boundaries though, however, they kept losing wickets too in the process and the leg spinner Yash Raj Punja trapping Klaasen in front of the stumps after getting thumped for a maximum on the ball before pretty much acted as the final nail in SRH's coffin

Nitish Kumar Reddy and Salil Arora then made brisk 30s as they put on 56 off just 24 balls but that was too little too late by then. Both of them were trapped by the wily old fox Jadeja and in the end, even though the game petered out just like last night, the result was never in question and RR came out convicing and comprehensive winners

19.2 Sushant Mishra to Shivang Kumar, OUT! EDGED AND GONE! THAT'S IT! RAJASTHAN ROYALS STORM INTO QUALIFIER 2! A complete demolition job in the Eliminator! After Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s breathtaking assault with the bat, RR’s bowlers turned the screws and absolutely choked SRH out of the chase. Clinical, ruthless, and fearless — the Royals march on, while Sunrisers Hyderabad bow out of IPL 2026!

Back of a length outside the off-stump, Shivang throws kitchen sink at it, but finds the outside edge, fittingly it went to Sooryavanshi at short third who makes no mistake.

19.1 Sushant Mishra to Shivang Kumar, WIDE! Wayward line to start the over. Back of a length, strays it way outside the off-stump, called a wide.

Thrice in that over Sakib almost swung himself off his feet, can't blame him though. Just 6 balls left now, Sushant Mishra to close out the proceedings

18.5 Brijesh Sharma to Shivang Kumar, full toss on the middle and leg. Shivang top edged the pull around the corner, falls safely and picks up one. RR review the no-ball decision.

Replay confirms, it's above the waist height and it's a no-ball!

18.4 Brijesh Sharma to Sakib Hussain, length delivery on the off-stump. Sakib has a big swing at it, but inside edged it into the on-side for one.