Rajasthan Royals stormed into Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026 after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs in the Eliminator on Wednesday. The night belonged to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, whose 97 off just 29 balls put RR in complete control of the contest. Chasing a place in Qualifier 2, Rajasthan Royals first piled up 243 for eight after Sooryavanshi tore apart the SRH bowling attack in one of the most destructive knocks of the season. The youngster smashed 12 sixes and came within touching distance of Chris Gayle’s record for the fastest IPL hundred. Gayle had reached his century in 30 balls, while Sooryavanshi fell for 97 after facing only 29 deliveries. The left-hander attacked from the start and left Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins searching for answers. Anything full disappeared straight down the ground, while short balls were cut and pulled into the stands. Sooryavanshi reached his fifty in just 16 balls, with eight of those deliveries going for sixes. His opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal mostly watched from the other end and scored 29 off 29 balls. By the time Sooryavanshi was dismissed by Praful Hinge in the eighth over, Rajasthan Royals had already raced to 125 in just eight overs. The teenager also broke Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes in a single IPL season. He now has 65 sixes this season, going past Gayle’s tally of 59. Dhruv Jurel then carried the innings forward with a quick 50 off 21 balls, his sixth half-century of the season. Rajasthan Royals looked set for an even bigger total at 180 for two in 13 overs, but Sunrisers Hyderabad fought back in the death overs. SRH picked up five wickets for 36 runs in the final five overs to stop RR from crossing the 260-run mark. Still, the damage had already been done. Pat Cummins finished with expensive figures of 0 for 64 in four overs. Sakib Hussain gave away 49 runs in three overs, while Praful Hinge took three wickets but conceded 54 runs. Eshan Malinga also struggled, while wrist spinner Shivang Kumar impressed and picked up the wicket of Jaiswal. In reply, Sunrisers Hyderabad never truly recovered after losing wickets in the powerplay. Jofra Archer struck key blows in the powerplay and removed Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Travis Head. Archer’s final figures read 4-0-58-3. Though he leaked runs later in the innings, his wickets of SRH’s biggest match-winners proved decisive. Ishan Kishan made 33 while Nitish Kumar Reddy scored 38 to keep SRH in the chase briefly. Salil Arora added 35, but wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Heinrich Klaasen also failed to make an impact and was trapped lbw by Yash Raj Punja while trying an attacking shot. The lower-middle order tried to counterattack, but the target proved too big. Sunrisers Hyderabad were eventually bowled out for 196 in 19.2 overs. Rajasthan Royals will now face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 on Friday for a place in the IPL 2026 final.
