Rajasthan Royals kept their IPL 2026 title hopes alive with a commanding 47-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator at New Chandigarh on Wednesday. The victory sends Rajasthan into Qualifier 2, where they will face Gujarat Titans for a place in the final. Sunrisers Hyderabad, meanwhile, are out of the tournament.
The night belonged to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenage opener played one of the most explosive knocks in IPL history, smashing 97 off just 29 balls as Rajasthan Royals piled up a huge 243 for 8 in 20 overs. He hit 5 fours and a stunning 12 sixes, leaving the Hyderabad bowlers with no answers.
Sooryavanshi raced to his fifty in only 16 balls and looked set to break Chris Gayle’s record for the fastest century in IPL history. But he fell agonisingly short, caught in the deep just three runs away after a breathtaking innings that had the crowd on its feet.
Even without the hundred, it was a record-filled night for the youngster. The knock pushed him to the top of the Orange Cap standings with 680 runs this season, and he also broke the record for most sixes in a single IPL season with 65 maximums.
Rajasthan kept the pressure on after his dismissal thanks to Dhruv Jurel, who hammered 50 from only 21 balls. Hyderabad did pull things back slightly at the death, with Praful Hinge picking up three wickets, but the target remained massive.
Chasing 244 in a knockout game, Hyderabad needed a flying start but never got close. Jofra Archer made sure of that.
The fast bowler struck with his second delivery to remove Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck. He then dismissed Ishan Kishan and Travis Head, breaking the top order inside the powerplay and reducing Hyderabad to 57 for 4.
Heinrich Klaasen could not rescue the chase either and fell for 18. Nitish Kumar Reddy made 38 and impact player Salil Arora added 35, but the asking rate kept climbing.
Archer finished with 3 for 58, while Ravindra Jadeja, Nandre Burger and Sushant Mishra picked up two wickets each as Hyderabad were bowled out for 196 in 19.2 overs.
Rajasthan’s all-round display now takes them one step away from the IPL 2026 final. But the biggest story from the night was Sooryavanshi’s fearless batting.