IPL 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 93 keeps Rajasthan Royals’ playoff hopes alive

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again took center stage as the 15-year-old produced a stunning 93 off just 38 balls to lead Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants in a crucial IPL 2026 clash in Jaipur. The win kept Rajasthan firmly alive in the play-off race, with the team now needing one more win against Mumbai Indians to boost their qualification hopes.Chasing a mammoth target of 221, Rajasthan looked fearless from the start. Sooryavanshi smashed 10 sixes and attacked almost every bowler, making a difficult chase look surprisingly easy. He first added a quick partnership with stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal before putting up another massive stand with Dhruv Jurel, who remained unbeaten with a half-century. Although the teenager missed his century by just seven runs, he had already taken the game away from Lucknow.Commenting, former cricketer Ian Bishop summed up the youngster’s brilliance perfectly, saying: “He’s ready.”Earlier, Mitchell Marsh powered Lucknow to 220/5 with a brutal 96 off 57 balls. Josh Inglis also played aggressively and scored 60 as the pair gave LSG a flying start with 109 runs. Marsh continued to attack even after Inglis got out, smashing boundaries all around the ground and narrowly missing out on a century.However, the Rajasthan bowlers struggled for most of the innings with only young spinner Yash Raj Punja able to gain some control with two wickets. Jofra Archer’s disciplined final over also helped limit further damage.The young batsman is now closing in on several IPL records, including Chris Gayle’s mark for most sixes in a season. His fearless batting even put pressure on Indian pacer Mayank Yadav, who fell hard in one over.While Lucknow’s playoff hopes ended in defeat, Rajasthan now head into their final league match with qualification still within reach.