Sooryavanshi’s blitz guides Royals to Qualifier 2 of IPL

Teenage star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi delivered one of the best innings in Indian Premier League (IPL) knockout history before Jofra Archer tore through the top order as Rajasthan Royals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs in the Eliminator of IPL in New Chandigarh.

With this win, the Rajasthan Royals advanced to Qualifier 2, where they will meet the Gujarat Titans.

Sooryavanshi scored an incredible 97 off just 28 balls, leading RR to a total of 243 for 8. This score proved much too high for SRH, even though they launched a brave counterattack in their chase. The 15-year-old hit a 16-ball fifty, tying Suresh Raina’s record for the fastest half-century in an IPL playoff. He also surpassed Chris Gayle for the most sixes in a T20 tournament. He missed out on Gayle’s record for the fastest IPL century by three runs when he top-edged Praful Hinge to deep third while on 97, but he had thoroughly disrupted SRH’s bowling strategy.

Pat Cummins started with defensive field placements and heavy yorkers, but Sooryavanshi’s assault turned the Power-play into total chaos. RR raced to 63 without losing a wicket in four overs and reached 125 for 1 in just eight. Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal struggled to 29 off 29 balls in what became one of the oddest supporting roles in T20 cricket.

The momentum hardly slowed after Sooryavanshi’s dismissal. Dhruv Jurel slammed a 20-ball fifty, dismantling Cummins with scoops, pulls, and straight hits as RR surged to 192 for 3 in 13.5 overs. Riyan Parag contributed 26, while late efforts from Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja pushed RR past 240, despite a disciplined finish from Nitish Kumar Reddy.

In pursuit of 244, SRH started in disarray. Archer struck on the second ball of the innings with a brutal short delivery, forcing Abhishek Sharma (0) to glove the ball to the keeper. However, SRH did not give up easily. Ishan Kishan unleashed 33 off 11 while Travis Head joined the early assault, helping SRH reach 51 for 1 in 2.4 overs in a thrilling exchange.

Archer, however, changed the game entirely. Kishan (33) edged a catch to cover while attempting another aggressive shot, and soon after, Nandre Burger dismissed Ravichandran Smaran (1) with a hard-length delivery. Archer then bowled Head (17) with a 150kph delivery that hit the top of off stump. SRH fell to 57 for 4 in 4.4 overs, with Archer once again making a significant impact at a crucial stage of the tournament.

Heinrich Klaasen (18) briefly raised hopes with an impressive six off legspinner Yash Raj Punja, but RR successfully reviewed his lbw after he missed a reverse sweep. SRH kept attacking with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Impact Player Salil Arora, whose 50-run partnership came off just 19 balls, but RR continued to take wickets. Jadeja dismissed Reddy for 38 off 20 by restricting his movement, while Pat Cummins (1) fell while trying to clear long-on, with Archer making a fine catch at the boundary.

Arora continued his fightback and added 24 runs with Shivang Kumar, who then added 24 further with Eshan Malinga, but the fall of wickets continued for SRH as RR cruised to victory by 47 runs.

Jofra Archer finished with the surreal figures of 4-0-58-3, expensive on paper, especially after even Shivang Kumar took him on in a 16-run 17th over - but the numbers barely captured his impact on the Eliminator. Archer struck with the second ball of the chase to remove Abhishek Sharma, then returned to dismiss the dangerous Ishan Kishan and blasted through Travis Head with a 150kph thunderbolt. Those three wickets at the top of the order ultimately tilted the match decisively in the Rajasthan Royals’ favour. Jadeja, Burger, and Sushant took two wickets each.

Earlier, the 15-year-old set records with a remarkable display of hitting. He reached his fifty in just 16 balls, matching the fastest in an IPL playoff, alongside Suresh Raina’s effort in 2014. Sooryavanshi also broke Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes in a T20 tournament. Just three runs shy of the fastest IPL hundred, he fell for 97 off 28 balls after completely dismantling SRH’s bowling strategy and turning the powerplay into chaos.

Pat Cummins used an unusual defensive strategy, placing deep square leg and deep midwicket for Sooryavanshi. He bowled almost exclusively full and straight to limit Sooryavanshi’s scoring opportunities. The plan almost worked for three balls until one well-placed delivery sailed over mid-off for six.

Agencies