• Source:JND

RR vs SRH IPL 2026 Eliminator: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's match-winning knock during the IPL 2026 Eliminator match against Sunrisers Hyderabad is now being praised by R Ashwin, as the ex-India cricketer is surprised by the star Rajasthan Royals opener's maturity at such a young age. This Eliminator, a pivotal knockout stage in the IPL playoffs in which the losing team is eliminated, showcased Sooryavanshi's brilliance. Ashwin even went on to say that his parents should save him from the 'evil eye' after his brilliant growth this year.

During an interaction on his YouTube channel following the Riyan Parag-led side's victory over SRH, Ashwin described how Sooryavanshi transformed his skills and adapted his gameplay within just one season.

“I don't wanna play 15-year-old boy card, but tell me how many matches did he play at the age of 15 to get this level of mental maturity?” R Ashwin was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

ALSO READ: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Touches Sunil Gavaskar’s Feet Before Unleashing Batting Onslaught | Watch

“If you remember his uppercut over third man for six, the same ball at the start of the season, he was trying to play straight, and it was getting top-edged. Inside a season, he made such changes at the age of just 15", he added.

Ashwin again showered huge praises on the star RR opener.

"He is no ordinary player. His talent burns so brightly that his mom and dad must do everything to protect him from the bad, evil eye," he said, his voice echoing both pride and an urgent need for safeguarding the young phenom.

ALSO READ: Yashasvi Jaiswal Advised To Leave RR For Mumbai Indians To Step Out Of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Shadow

“This boy in the post-match interview was saying that a hundred will come later. I tried to win the match for my team tonight. The way he bats, he doesn’t care about hundreds because he knows he will get them here and there", he said.

He also pointed out that the youngster answered all the questions about how he handled pressure in playoff situations.

“There was a question on him, how he was going to play under pressure, and he was incredible,” he concluded.

HOW SOORYAVANSHI DISMANTLED SRH BOWLERS

The Pat Cummins-led side entered the Eliminator boasting a superior bowling lineup this season, but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi unleashed a boundary-hitting spree that overwhelmed them.

Pat Cummins deployed and rotated bowlers, continually repositioning fielders when they sensed defeat creeping in. They hurled hard lengths, unleashed Yorkers at the blockhole, and fired short-pitched deliveries at the body, but the youngster persisted and dominated for an extended period.

Sooryavanshi blazed to his half-century in just 16 balls, refusing to let the opponents breathe. With every swing of the bat, the crowd's energy surged. He stormed his way to 97 runs off only 27 balls, batting at a wild strike rate of 334.48. His 12 sixes and five fours electrified the stadium, leaving him heartbreakingly short by only three runs of the tournament's fastest hundred, but his dominance captured every heart watching.

What terrified the SRH bowlers most was how quickly he read and mastered the surface. At first, he targeted full straight deliveries. When they peppered him with short balls, he dissected the square boundaries with upper cuts and pull shots. Any ball landing on his pads, he hopped towards backward square leg.

Cummins himself had leaked four sixes, and their changes and defensive field placements also couldn't stop Vaibhav, who had survived the first few overs.

He fell just three runs short of writing his name in the tournament's history with the fastest century. Yet, his thunderous innings had already sent the team to a towering score of 243 runs, setting the tone for an unforgettable night.

And when he was finally dismissed, the Riyan Parag-led side had left the game open, while the Hyderabad-based franchise was trying to play catch-up in this crucial Eliminator playoff match, which determines which team stays in the IPL tournament and which is knocked out.

This knock has set the cricketing world abuzz about his future in the Indian team. Sooryavanshi has blazed 680 runs this season at a staggering average of 45.33 and a strike rate of 242.86—numbers that evoke awe and anticipation, swelling hopes for what this extraordinary talent might achieve next.


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