Rajasthan Royals’ four-match winning streak in IPL 2026 ended after a 57-run defeat to the hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Monday.

Jofra Archer led the Rajasthan Royals’ bowling attack with figures of 2/37 but Sunrisers Hyderabad, riding on Ishan Kishan’s 44-ball 91, posted 216/6 in their 20 overs.

Rajasthan Royals' top order endured an off day but a 118-run stand between Donovan Ferreira (69 off 44) and Ravindra Jadeja (45 off 32) helped them recover in the chase, which eventually folded on 159 in 19 overs.

It was the highest sixth-wicket partnership for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL and the second-highest overall behind Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard’s 122-run stand for the Mumbai Indians against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2012.

Sunrisers bowlers Praful Hinge (4/34) and Sakib Hussain (4/24), with four-wicket hauls, had debuts to remember.

Despite the result, Rajasthan Royals remain at the top of the IPL 2026 points table with eight points, built on their strong start to the campaign.

The Royals had earlier registered wins over Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at home in Guwahati and secured an away victory against the Gujarat Titans.

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After opting to field, the Rajasthan Royals made the ideal start as Archer removed Abhishek Sharma off the opening delivery.

Captain Riyan Parag then accounted for Travis Head in the seventh over with the score at 55/2, bringing up his 50th T20 wicket.

Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen counter-attacked with an 88-run stand off just 39 balls to shift momentum towards the hosts.

Rajasthan Royals, however, responded through Sandeep Sharma, who deceived Kishan with a slower, back-of-a-length delivery to induce a top edge and complete a running catch in the 14th over. Sunrisers Hyderabad were 143/3 at that stage.

Hyderabad continued to press through Klaasen (40) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (28), but the Royals pulled things back in phases. Tushar Deshpande removed Klaasen, while Archer returned at the death to dismiss Nitish in the penultimate over.

Rajasthan Royals’ chase, however, began on a difficult note.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel and IPL debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius fell in the opening over to Praful Hinge - the first instance in IPL history of three wickets falling in the first over of an innings.

Further setbacks saw Yashasvi Jaiswal and Parag depart as Rajasthan Royals slipped to 9/5 inside three overs.

A counter-attacking stand between Ravindra Jadeja and Donovan Ferreira helped the Royals restore the momentum, taking them to 120/5 in 14 overs. However, both lost their wickets in back-to-back overs.

Donovan Ferreira’s maiden IPL fifty included seven fours and three sixes while Jadeja’s 45 had five fours.

A few mighty blows from Tushar Deshpande at the end helped the Royals reduce the margin of defeat.

Rajasthan Royals will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the away game next on Sunday. The KKR vs RR match will be held at Eden Gardens.

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2026, brief scores: SRH 216/6 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 91; Jofra Archer 2/37) beat RR 159/10 in 19 overs (Donovan Ferreira 69, Ravindra Jadeja 45; Praful Hinge 4/34, Sakib Hussain 4/24) by 57 runs.