In their Qualifier 2 match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Friday, Rajasthan Royals defeated Gujarat Titans by scoring 214/6 in 20 overs thanks to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s brilliant yet mature 96, Ravindra Jadeja’s attacking 45, and Donovan Ferreira’s brilliant 38 not out.
Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada shocked RR early on a challenging two-paced pitch with inconsistent bounce. Before withdrawing due to an elbow injury, Jadeja gave a boost. She later came back to score 45 off 35 balls.
Then, in the last over, Ferreira tore into Rashid Khan, hitting 38 off just 11 deliveries with 27 runs, including four sixes. Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi’s knock, which was different from his Eliminator knock of 97, was equally impactful, scoring 96 off 47 balls with eight fours and seven sixes.
Additionally, Sooryavanshi became the fastest batsman to reach 1000 IPL runs and took over the record for most boundaries hit by a batter in a single IPL season. The teenager added 46 runs in the following 17 deliveries after reaching his fifty in 31 balls, which was his slowest half-century in the IPL.
His ability to play according to the circumstances with exceptional maturity and a variety of strokes was his defining characteristic. Sooryavanshi shone under the lights in New Chandigarh and gave RR the lead at the midway point in their attempt to play in their third IPL final, despite falling one hit shy of a century once more.
RR lost Yashasvi Jaiswal to Siraj in the first over after choosing to bat first, while Dhruv Jurel also went cheaply to Rabada. Promoted up the order, Jadeja joined Sooryavanshi at 9/2 to stabilize the ship.
Sooryavanshi, plagued by bouncers and unable to establish his customary timing, sent Rabada over the sightscreen for a maximum of 91 meters as the left-hander counterattacked, dragging Siraj for boundaries and a six. Before Jadeja retired due to an elbow injury, the two quickly rebuilt and hit boundaries.
Riyan Parag and Sooryavanshi hit Rashid for eighteen runs in the ninth over, making his introduction a complete failure. However, Jason Holder turned things around by quickly dismissing Parag and Dasun Shanaka, while Prasidh Krishna put a stop to Jofra Archer’s cameo, leaving RR at 120/5.
B Sai Sudharsan took advantage of Sooryavanshi’s single drop on 46 with a nice hit. He accelerated with bold strokes after reaching his fifty, the most notable of which were a soaring draw off Siraj and a forehand slap off Holder.
Despite Sooryavanshi clearing Washington Sundar twice for sixes in the 17th over, Jadeja returned from treatment and contributed vital runs. He appeared to be headed for his second IPL century of the year, but Rabada caught him at third man after he mistimed the upper cut.
Ferreira then became the main attraction. After hitting two fours off Prasidh, he launched a spectacular attack on Rashid in the last over, hitting four straight sixes, including a slog scoop over mid-wicket and an inside-out loft over extra cover, as his late surge helped RR surpass 210 runs.
Short scores:
Rajasthan Royals defeated Gujarat Titans 214/6 in 20 overs (Jason Holder 2-27, Kagiso Rabada 2-45; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 96, Ravindra Jadeja 45 not out).
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