Rajasthan Royals signed off from Guwahati with a six-wicket victory over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL 2026 match at the ACA Stadium on Friday.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (78 off 26) and Dhruv Jurel (81 off 43) powered the inaugural champions to a successful chase of 202 in 18 overs, after Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Jofra Archer (2/33) led the bowling effort to restrict RCB to 201/8.

The win further cemented the Rajasthan Royals’ place at the top of the Indian Premier League 2026 points table with eight points and a Net Run Rate (NRR) of 2.055.

This was also the Rajasthan Royals’ third and final match of the season in Guwahati. They beat Chennai Super Kings at the venue in their season-opener and got the better of the Mumbai Indians in their second assignment in Guwahati.

Jofra Archer set the tone for the Rajasthan Royals with a fiery opening over on Friday. A vicious lifting delivery undid Phil Salt on the first ball, with the edge looping gently to Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps.

Archer nearly had Virat Kohli in the same over but the outside edge flew past a diving Jurel.

Devdutt Padikkal, coming in on the back of consecutive fifties, threatened to counterpunch but Archer had other ideas. Padikkal miscued a flick to long leg, where Shimron Hetmyer completed a sharp diving catch.

With 55/2 in four overs, RCB were off to a flying start despite early wickets. Ravi Bishnoi, however, tightened the flow of runs. Introduced inside the powerplay, the leg-spinner struck twice in quick succession to leave RCB at 65/4 in seven overs.

Kohli, whose 32 off 16 led RCB’s early charge, was undone by a flighted delivery that dipped late and crashed into the stumps.

In his next over, Bishnoi removed Krunal Pandya as the left-hander perished attempting to go big, only to find Hetmyer at long-off for another well-judged catch.

At the halfway mark, Royal Challengers Bengaluru were struggling at 89/5.

However, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar’s 63 off 40 and cameos from Romario Shepherd (22 off 11) and Venkatesh Iyer (29 off 15) lifted the defending champions past 200.

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Rajasthan Royals came out with clear intent, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi wasting no time in taking on a seasoned RCB attack.

Jaiswal went after premier quick Josh Hazlewood, striking a couple of eye-catching sixes, but his stay was cut short in the second over when he edged one behind to Jitesh Sharma.

However, the wicket did not slow down the Rajasthan Royals.

Sooryavanshi took charge alongside Dhruv Jurel and launched an assault that blew the game open in the powerplay.

Abhinandan Singh was taken apart by Sooryavanshi in the third over. Hazlewood’s return had little impact, with Sooryavanshi showing no regard for reputation. He carved the Australian World Cup winner for three boundaries and a six in a 19-run over.

He raced to a breathtaking 15-ball half-century - his second of the season - making it the joint third-fastest fifty in IPL history.

Vaibhav’s RR opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal holds the record for fastest fifty in IPL having reached the mark in 13 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023.

By the end of the powerplay, Rajasthan Royals had stormed to 97/1, with Sooryavanshi blazing 57 off just 18 balls and Jurel providing explosive support with 27 off 10.

In all, 19 boundaries - eight sixes and 11 fours - were struck in a staggering six-over exhibition to bring up Rajasthan Royals’ highest powerplay score and the fifth quickest overall in IPL history.

The duo brought up a 100-run partnership off 34 balls in the eighth over - the second-fastest century stand in IPL history.

Sooryavanshi’s extraordinary innings finally ended in the ninth over, when Virat Kohli caught him off Krunal Pandya for a sensational 78 off 26 balls, including eight fours and seven sixes.

Rajasthan Royals lost a couple of quick wickets after Sooryavanshi but Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 68-run partnership helped them seal the victory with two overs to spare.

Rajasthan Royals will take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad next on Monday. The SRH vs RR match will be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.

Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, IPL 2026, brief scores: RCB 201/8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Jofra Archer 2/33) lost to RR 202/4 in 18 overs (Dhruv Jurel 81 not out, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78; Krunal Pandya 2/30) by six wickets.