Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, Eliminator, Indian Premier League 2026 - CommentarySRH vs RR, Eliminator, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

Another one-sided playoff game as Rajasthan Royals storm into Qualifier 2 in emphatic fashion. More importantly, they now head into that clash with a significant advantage - it will be played at this very venue and they have clearly familiarised themselves with the conditions. Gujarat Titans will need to be right at the top of their game if they are to stop this Rajasthan side, especially with the confidence and momentum RR are carrying at the moment. Hopefully Friday’s Qualifier 2 gives us the close contest these playoffs have been missing so far. Do join us for that clash between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans. Until next time, goodbye and stay safe..

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Player of the Match: (Do you celebrate the win or is it more like ‘what’s gone is gone, now think ahead’?) When we win, we just take the positive intent forward and move on to the next match. And we will try to win the next match in the same way and reach the finals. (What’s your mindset going into the next game?) I do think a little bit, but not too much. I just try to play the game I’m in and not overthink. But if I feel there’s something I need to work on, then I look at that. (Tell us about your preparation before the match.) I just think about who the bowlers are in the opposition team, how I can face them on this wicket, how big the boundaries are, just these kinds of things. I just try to stay positive with my intent. When I do that, the bowlers stay under pressure. So I try to continue that and dominate the game. (On the ball he was dismissed, was he aware about the record?) I found out only after I got out. At that time, my only focus was to contribute as much as I could because centuries will keep happening, but right now the focus is on how to win the trophy. If I feel I’m having trouble somewhere, I work on that. I don’t think about what the opposition is planning, that’s their plan. I focus on what my plan is, and I just try to play normal cricket.

Most sixes in an IPL season (ball/six)
65 - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 2026 (4.3)
59 - Chris Gayle, 2012 (7.7)
52 - Andre Russell, 2019 (4.7)
51 - Chris Gayle, 2013 (8.9)
45 - Jos Buttler, 2022 (12.9)

Most runs in an IPL Season (among non-openers)
717 - Suryakumar Yadav (2025)
687 - AB de Villiers (2016)
684 - Rishabh Pant (2018)
624 - Heinrich Klaasen (2026)*
622 - Kane Williamson (2018)
605 - Suryakumar Yadav (2023)
604 - Shreyas Iyer (2025)

600-plus runs by two different batters for a team in an IPL edition
Chris Gayle & Virat Kohli (RCB, 2013)
Virat Kohli & AB de Villiers (RCB, 2016)
Ruturaj Gaikwad & Faf du Plessis (CSK, 2021)
Virat Kohli & Faf du Plessis (RCB, 2023)
Shubman Gill & Sai Sudharsan (GT, 2025)
Shubman Gill & Sai Sudharsan (GT, 2026)
Heinrich Klaasen & Ishan Kishan (SRH, 2026)*

Most consecutive wins vs RR in IPL
6 - CSK (2010-2013)
6 - SRH (2023-2026) – ended today
5 - RCB (2019-2022)
5 - DC (2018-2020)

Most consecutive wins for SRH vs an opponent in IPL
6 vs PBKS (2015-2017)
6 vs RR (2023-2026) – ended today
5 vs GL (2016-17)
4 vs RR (2015-19)
4 vs PBKS (2023-25)

First win for RR against SRH after losing six successive IPL matches since 2023.

RR won all four games they played at Mullanpur.

26 sixes in this game is the most scored in an IPL knockout/playoff match, bettering 25 sixes from MI-GT match in the 2025 Eliminator.

Riyan Parag | RR captain: Yeah, a good game. Again, I think I like to be a perfectionist. I know it's not going to be a perfect game altogether. But even today, we should have gotten 260, right? So a bit to work on that. How to finish off innings after we get a start like Vaibhav did. But with the ball, I think I was really impressed. I think we held our calm. They got a lot of runs in the second over or the first, once Ishan and Travis added a few boundaries, but I think we came back really well and a good performance altogether. (What are the conversations you have with Vaibhav?) That's the thing, we don't have any conversations. (Just leave him alone?) 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. (Did it almost help that your last two matches were in a sense knockout games too?) You could say that, but then I feel it just brings out a little bit more from people as well. I feel when everything's on the line, I feel everyone works really hard towards it. And even during the season, I think it would be not fair enough to say that we were even more energized, even more focused because the game was on the line, because the season was on the line. Everyone's done that throughout the season, but especially the last two games, everyone just turned up a little bit more. (Do you demand anything of Archer or do you just tell him go and do your thing?) No, we keep on having like fun little banters. I feel the first ball he bowled to Abhishek that I almost got a catch, but there it was wide. So I went up to Jofra. I was like, Joff, I need you to be a little straighter. And then he gets the wicket and he asks me smiling inside, is that straight enough for you? So I feel he's one of the best, if not the best in world cricket. And I feel when he's bowling 150 clicks, you don't ask him to bowl slow. You don't ask him to do anything. You just remind him if at all he needs any reminding of, otherwise he just does his job. (What's the plan for tomorrow?) I think rest tomorrow. We've had a great day. Everyone's gotten a bat inside and everyone's gotten a bowl as well. So I feel rest, recover. I'll definitely be recovering. I won't be practicing. So once that done, GT's next. (Maybe we'll have this conversation again) Hopefully we do.

Jofra Archer: (How did that feel tonight?) Apart from the figures, I thought I bowled pretty alright. I think all of the guys bowled alright. We stuck to our plans, we stuck to our lengths and we were rewarded tonight. (Striking first ball) Second [ball]. Yeah, usually the team that gets the most wickets in the powerplay, usually wins the game. So it's a lot of pressure, but I take it on and I do my best for the team. (How do you plan against damaging batters?) Honestly, you've just got to hold your nerve. As you said, they're really damaging, so your good balls are going to go for boundaries, your bad balls are going to go for boundaries as well. So you've just got to hang in there and just always keep thinking wickets because with that first four, like trying to get through the overs, it's never going to happen. (What was that like sitting in the dugout?) It was very exciting. The more runs he (Sooryavanshi) scores, the more runs we have to defend. So he can go on and get 150, so it's good for the boys when he gets a lot of runs. (Have you bowled to him in the nets?) Sometimes. (Where do you bowl to him?) I'll tell you after the IPL. (Very confident going forward) Every game at a time. I think we are peak, well, I don't want to say peaking and we're going in the right direction at the right time. We don't want what happened to Kings XI [PBKS] to happen to us. So I think we're on the right path. Everyone chipping in every game and that's the important part.

Pat Cummins | SRH captain: (What was it like with Sooryavanshi going crazy?) Yeah, he played pretty well. Yeah, just don't feel like you have too many options. Obviously, it's a really good pitch, but the margins are so small. If you miss your yorker by a little bit, he doesn't tend to miss them. So yeah, fair play. (Are there any regrets from choosing to chase?) Not really. It was a pretty good wicket even there at the end. (On unearthing young players) I think we end up as a really well-rounded team. Praful and Sakib were awesome. Young guys haven't played a lot. I think I saw a stat today, we're one of the youngest teams to make the playoffs or something this year, or ever, or something like that, which shows some of the talent that the coaching group have unearthed. So yeah, it's great as a captain seeing them go about it. (Did you think you can chase it at the halfway mark?) I think a few things still need to go right to chase down 240, but if there was ever going to be a pitch and a field to do it, it was this one. I think we stayed on the rate for most of the innings. We just kind of lost probably a couple too many wickets at the wrong time. So it was always going to be tough, but gave ourselves a decent chance. (Two playoffs in three years) Yeah, that's right. I think we were one tiny little bit away from being in the top two as well. So you can't ask for much more. The boys have been fantastic, their attitude all year, the way they've gone about it. It looks like they've really enjoyed their cricket, so I can't ask for any more.

23:25 Local Time, 17:55 GMT, 23:25 IST: A sensational knock from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, backed by a clinical bowling performance from Rajasthan Royals has knocked Sunrisers Hyderabad out of IPL 2026. The youngster came agonisingly close to breaking Chris Gayle’s record for the fastest IPL century, tearing apart the SRH attack and putting RR firmly in control inside the first eight overs. By the time Sooryavanshi departed, the Royals had already piled on 125 runs in just eight overs and were cruising. Dhruv Jurel chipped in with a valuable fifty as RR eventually posted a massive 243 on the board. In fact, had they not lost wickets in clusters towards the end, they could easily have pushed past 260. In reply, SRH’s chase never really took off after Jofra Archer struck early and dismantled the top order inside the powerplay. Heinrich Klaasen also failed to make an impact, falling lbw to Punja while attempting an audacious stroke. Although the lower-middle order tried to counterattack, they kept losing wickets in the process. SRH eventually fizzled out and fell short by 47 runs. Stay around for the presentations..

Sushant Mishra to Shivang Kumar, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Equation: 49 runs required in 6 balls..