Alone behind the boundary ropes, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in tears after RR's loss to KKR

After the adrenaline of the final wore off, the cameras captured the touching moment at Eden Gardens. As Kolkata Knight Riders celebrated their first win of the season, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi remained on the field, sitting alone by the boundary rope. Despite Rajasthan Royals maintaining a strong position in the top four with only their second loss of the tournament, the young opener was visibly overcome with emotion and seemed to feel the brunt of the narrow defeat personally. KKR vs RR: Highlights | Scorecard

The teenager’s plight did not go unnoticed by the opposition. In a quiet display of sportsmanship that transcended rivalry, a member of the KKR support staff approached the young cricketer. A staff member sat next to Sooryavanshi on the grass, offering a comforting hand and soothing words as the youngster tried to calm down. It was a grounding reminder of the human element in a high-stakes league.

For a boy who should be worrying about school exams, the burden of professional loss proved too much.

Yesterday, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was spotted crying after playing The Guy Is Incredible! Whether he goes out early or the team loses, he wears his heart on his sleeve. Honestly that’s the 15 year old way of thinking I know I would have done the exact same thing at that age! pic.twitter.com/Ug6X4gVqks— OldMonkOfCricket (@OldMonkOfCricket) April 20, 2026

The tears were perhaps fueled by the “what ifs” of his own brilliant performance. Earlier in the evening, Sooryavanshi batted impressively on a pitch that did not suit the natural stroke maker. He took on the KKR attack with a fearlessness that belied his age, smashing 46 runs off just 28 balls. While the rest of the batting unit struggled against the spin of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, Vaibhav gave the team a bright start.

However, his dismissal just four runs short of the milestone triggered a collapse that saw RR stumble to 155. As the youngster watched from the dug-out as KKR’s middle order chipped away from the target, the youngster’s nervousness grew, eventually breaking through when the winning runs were struck.

Electing to bat, Royals posted 155/9, powered by a blistering start from 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who smashed 46 off 28 balls. Along with Yashasvi Jaiswal (39), Sooryavanshi powered RR to a commanding 81/0 by the ninth over. However, the momentum shifted dramatically as KKR’s spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy (3/14) and Sunil Narine (2/26) strangled the score and triggered a middle-order collapse.

Chasing 156, KKR’s innings got off to a disastrous start, crumbling to 5/2 in the second over and later to 85/6 as Ravindra Jadeja (2/8) piled on the pressure. The saving grace came from vice-captain Rinku Singh, who anchored the chase with a level, unbeaten 53 off 34 balls. He was ably supported by Anukul Roy (29)* in a match-defining partnership of 76 runs. Despite Kartik Tyagi’s late burst of three wickets for RR, KKR crossed the line with two balls to spare.

Result marked only the second loss for Rajasthan Royals this seasonwho remained comfortably third in the points table with 8 points from six games. Meanwhile, KKR have finally moved off the bottom of the table with their first win.

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Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

20 Apr 2026 10:58 IST

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