Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals (PTI Photo) Vaibhav Sooryavanshi delivered a fiery reply to Praful Hinge, turning their earlier clash on its head in dramatic fashion during the IPL 2026 clash between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.The last time these two met, Hinge completely dominated the match. He dismissed Sooryavanshi for a golden duck and took four wickets to win the Man of the Match award. Speaking after that game, Hinge made his intent clear. “The best was Sooryavanshi’s first wicket because he was in form. I’ve already told a few people that I’ll get him on the first ball, either a bouncer or some other way. I just wanted his first ball wicket,” he said.
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“We didn’t play good cricket” – Mahela Jayawardene after MI’s biggest IPL loss vs CSKThis time, however, the narrative immediately turned.After opening the innings, Sooryavanshi took on Hinge in the very first over and unleashed a brutal counter-attack. He tore into the pacer and smashed four straight sixes to completely regain the momentum. The over ended on 25 for no loss, with Sooryavanshi racing to 24 for the loss of just five balls.The attack was relentless. Pant’s variations and lengths made no difference as Sooryavanshi held his shape and roped repeatedly. Whether it was a good length delivery or a shorter ball, the result remained the same, the ball flew over the boundary. The sequence of sixes not only erased the memories of previous dismissals but also set the tone for the innings.Carrying that momentum forward, Sooryavanshi went on to bring up his half-century in just 15 balls during the powerplay. It was another quickfire fifty this season, having already produced similar efforts earlier in the tournament against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings. It was the third time Vaibhav had brought up his fifty off 15 balls this season.Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to field. Cummins returned to action for the first time since December after recovering from a problem that delayed his participation in the IPL. He replaced Dilshan Madushanka in the playing XI while Rajasthan Royals brought in Praful Hinge in place of Harsh Dubey.
