Vaibhav Sooryavanshi foiled SRH's Plan A, B and C in IPL Eliminator

SunRisers Hyderabad came armed with many plans for young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the IPL Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals. But at the end of a breathtaking power-play attack in Mullanpur, all those plans were torn apart by the 15-year-old prodigy.

Sooryavanshi on Wednesday produced one of the most devastating knocks in IPL history as he smashed 97 runs in just 29 balls to shock the SRH attack. Before the match, SRH captain Pat Cummins confidently stated that his side had a plan A, B and C for the teenager. None of them worked.

VAIBHAV’S CLAP IN NUMBERS

Sooryavanshi brought up his fifty in just 16 deliveries and continues a season that has now entered historic territory. The left-hander slammed 12 sixes in the innings, the most by an Indian batsman in a single IPL match.

SRH vs RR, IPL 2026 Eliminator: UPDATE | SCORECARD

In the process, he also broke Chris Gayle’s long-standing record of sixes in a single IPL season. Gayle hit 59 runs in 2012, a mark that remained untouched for over a decade before Vaibhav finally surpassed it.

The youngster looked set to write another historic feat, the fastest hundred in IPL history, but fell heartbreakingly short. In the 97th, he edged a delivery from Praful Hinge to third man in the eighth over.

SRH PLANS AGAINST VAIBHAV

SRH tried three different methods to stop the teenager but each of them failed.

Plan A came straight from Cummins himself. The SRH skipper started with a flurry of yorkers trying to deny the batsman any space to free his arms. This approach worked briefly, but only for a handful of deliveries. Cummins then changed angles, rounded the wicket and headed for the top of the off stump. That too failed almost immediately as Sooryavanshi unleashed him on a stunning drive through the infield for his first six of the innings.

Plan B involved pace and hostility. Eshan Malinga attacked the batsman with short bowling, hoping to pace the teenager with extra bounce and pace. Sooryavanshi’s lightning fast hands took over instead. The left-hander repeatedly pulled and hooked the ball deep into the leg-side stands.

A rattled SRH quickly moved to Plan C, relying on off cutters and slower balls to disrupt their rhythm. This strategy also disappeared in the stands.

Sooryavanshi’s brutal dominance in the powerplay helped Rajasthan race to 80 for no loss. Of those 80 runs, Vaibhav alone contributed 60 while Yashasvi Jaiswal managed just 19 at the other end.

The massacre also pushed Sooryavanshi to another record. He ended the season with 490 overs, the most in IPL history, surpassing the previous mark of 467 set by David Warner in 2016.

SRH vs RR: VAIBHAV LEAVES WINDING SRH

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s incredible strike on Wednesday left SunRisers Hyderabad completely rattled. By the time the youngster was dismissed for 97, Rajasthan Royals had stormed to 125/1 in just eight overs, with the match already slipping away from SRH.

After Vaibhav’s dismissal, Dhruv Jurel smoothly took over the attacking role and continued the carnage from the first ball he faced. Rajasthan’s scoring rate barely dipped as the Royals raced to 136/1 at the end of 10 overs.

Royals crossed the 150-run mark in the 11th over and continued to dominate the innings with a fearless stroke play. SRH’s bowlers looked completely unanswered on the night, especially skipper Pat Cummins, who failed to replicate the exceptional performances that have seen Hyderabad through the season.

Cummins conceded 51 runs in his first three overs, summing up SRH’s disastrous run with the ball in the Eliminator.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

27 May 2026 20:38 IST