RR ride Vaibhav Sooryavanshi storm to crush LSG and cement playoff grip

Results in Brief: Rajasthan Royals (225/3 in 19.1 overs) beat Lucknow Super Giants (220/5 in 20 overs) by 7 wickets at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur |IPL 2026, RR vs LSG: Highlights | Scorecard|

Rajasthan Royals walked into Jaipur knowing there was no room left for caution, calculators or what ifs. They needed chaos, fearless batting and wins to stay alive in the IPL 2026 playoff race.

What followed at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium was pure Vaibhav Sooryavanshi madness.

The 15-year-old again turned a massive chase into his personal best as Rajasthan Royals chased down 221 against Lucknow Super Giants with seven wickets in hand and cruised on. Sooryavanshi has a breathtaking 93 off just 38 balls. In a season where RR’s campaign has oscillated between brilliance and disaster, the teenager has once again become the difference between survival and near-elimination.

Before the chase even started, Mitchell Marsh looked set to completely spoil Rajasthan’s night.

The Australian all-rounder smashed a brutal 96 off 57 balls, hammering 11 fours and five sixes as LSG piled up 220 for five. Marsh now has 563 runs in 13 matches this season and has quietly emerged as one of the most devastating batsmen of IPL 2026 despite Lucknow enduring a frustrating campaign overall.

Josh Inglis gave LSG the perfect springboard earlier in the innings with a 29-ball 60 as the visitors raced to 109 in nine overs. Rajasthan’s bowling once again struggled in the Powerplay, a problem that has plagued them repeatedly throughout the season.

Jofra Archer was targeted early while Sandeep Sharma, Sushant Mishra and Brijesh Sharma consistently missed their lengths on the flat Jaipur surface. The only bright spot for RR was young spinner Yash Raj Punja with figures of 2 for 35.

Even the 35-year-old Rishabha Pant never looked fluent in 64 runs with Marsh. The LSG skipper consumed several deliveries during the middle overs and never managed to get a foothold despite Marsh dominating at the other end.

At 220, the game still looked heavily tilted towards Lucknow.

Then the Rajasthani openers came out and instantly changed the mood of the whole stadium.

Yashasvi Jaiswal looked like the man batting at the top, which he did just hours after being ignored by India’s ODI squad for the Afghanistan series. The RR stand-in skipper flew out of the blocks, smashing Akash Singh for 23 runs in the opening over and soon after dismantling Mohsin Khan for another expensive over.

But the fascinating part of the Powerplay actually happened at the other end.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, usually the most explosive batsman in the first few games, almost took a back seat initially. The teenager was more focused on rotating his shots and keeping his shape while allowing Jaiswal to dominate the scoring.

For a 15-year-old already renowned for fearless hitting, this maturity stood out as did the sixes that followed later.

Jaiswal eventually fell for a rapid 43 to Akash Singh, who celebrated wildly despite having already endured a nightmare spell.

And that was when the Sooryavanshi storm properly arrived.

VAIBHAV SOORYAVANSHI STORM RETURNS IN JAIPUR

The moment Jaiswal left, Sooryavanshi kicked into gear almost immediately.

What started as a measured innings suddenly exploded into one of the most devastating knocks of IPL 2026.

The teenager brought up a stunning 23-ball half-century and completely turned the pressure back on LSG. Anything remotely short disappeared into the racks while even fuller vans were effortlessly launched across the ground.

And this wasn’t some flat Chinnaswamy-style launch pad either.

Jaipur’s pitch remained slightly tacky in the chase stages, making Sooryavanshi’s acceleration all the more absurd.

He ended up smashing 93 off just 38 balls before missing out on a well-deserved century, but by then the game was all but out of Lucknow’s hands.

The innings also moved Sooryavanshi to the top of the Orange Cap standings, which only underlined how extraordinary his season has been.

Every time it looked like RR’s campaign was about to collapse, the teenager somehow dragged them back into contention.

RR STAY ALIVE, PBKS SLIP OUT OF TOP 4

Dhruv Jurel calmly completed the chase with an unbeaten 53 as Rajasthan completed the chase with five balls remaining and kept their play-off hopes alive.

The win also completely reshaped the playoff race.

Rajasthan Royals leapfrogged Punjab Kings in the standings while PBKS dropped out of the top four for the first time this season despite still being mathematically alive.

RR now head into their final league game knowing that qualification is still possible if results fall short.

For Lucknow, meanwhile, Marsh’s brilliance ended up being wasted on another frustrating night.

– The end

Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

19 May 2026 23:51 IST