Rajasthan Royals defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator of IPL 2026 and booked their place in Qualifier 2 with a strong 47 run win in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
With this result, Sunrisers Hyderabad were knocked out of IPL 2026 after failing to chase a massive target.
SRH won the toss and chose to bowl first. Batting first, Rajasthan Royals posted a huge total of 243/8.
The innings was built around a special knock from 15 year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who scored 97 runs off just 29 balls, hitting 5 fours and 12 sixes.
From the start, he batted with clear intent and kept attacking the bowlers without any fear. Dhruv Jurel also played an important innings with a quick 50.
His knock helped RR maintain a high scoring rate throughout the innings and reach a total that kept SRH under pressure from the beginning.
Sunrisers Hyderabad never really got going in the chase. Their batting lineup collapsed under pressure and they were eventually bowled out for 196 runs.
No batter from SRH managed to score a half century, and they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
The biggest talking point of the match was Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s innings. He batted freely and looked set for a century before getting out on 97.
He missed Chris Gayle’s record for the fastest IPL century by just three runs, as Gayle’s 30 ball hundred still remains the fastest in IPL history.
Even though he missed the century, Vaibhav still created major records in the same innings.
He went past Chris Gayle to become the player with the most sixes in a single IPL season, reaching 60 sixes and setting a new benchmark in power hitting.
He also scored a fifty in just 16 balls, becoming the joint fastest to reach a half century in IPL knockout matches. He now shares this record with Suresh Raina, who also scored a 16 ball fifty in a playoff match in 2014.
Players like MS Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist, Virender Sehwag, and Rajat Patidar are also part of the list, but Vaibhav doing it at just 15 makes it even more special.
While Vaibhav stole the spotlight, Rajasthan Royals still have concerns heading into the next match.
Their middle order has struggled throughout the season and has not been consistent under pressure. This is something RR will need to fix quickly before Qualifier 2.
At the same time, SRH’s batting once again showed inconsistency in a big playoff match. They failed to build partnerships and could not handle the pressure of a big chase, which eventually led to their elimination.
Now Rajasthan Royals move on to Qualifier 2, where they will face Gujarat Titans. That match will decide who reaches the final, but RR will need more support from their middle order if they want to go all the way, as they cannot rely only on individual brilliance in such a big game.
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