Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was at his brilliant best once again as he struck his third fifty of the season to help Rajasthan Royals beat Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and stay alive in the IPL 2026 playoffs race.
The 15-year-old scored a blistering 93 off 38 balls to help RR register a formidable chase, while Yash Raj Punia with figures of 2/35 was the Royals’ best bowler in Jaipur on Tuesday.
Mitchell Marsh was LSG’s top-scorer with 96 off 57 balls to help them post a total of 220/5.
The Royals were captained by Yashasvi Jaiswal in absence of full-time RR captain Riyan Parag, who missed the match due to a hamstring strain.
Chasing 221 to win, the Royals made a rapid start, scoring 23 runs off the first over with Yashasvi Jaiswal striking four boundaries to announce his intent.
Jaiswal, in fact, donned the role of aggressor early, smashing four more boundaries in the fourth over to ensure the Royals kept abreast with the asking rate.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also got in on the action after taking time to settle and along with Jaiswal helped RR to 71/0 at the end of the powerplay.
However, Jaiswal perished soon after the powerplay was done, having contributed 43 off 23 balls. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shifted gears following Jaiswal’s dismissal, hammering Akash Singh for 24 runs in ninth over as RR raced past the 100-run mark to stay on course for the chase.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi brought up his fifty off just 23 balls in the next over and continued to deposit the ball to all corners of the stadium as he brought up his 50th six of the season, becoming the first-ever Indian player to achieve the feat in IPL history.
Dhruv Jurel also joined the charge and, alongside Sooryavanshi, tore into Mayank Yadav, plundering 29 runs in the 12th over before going on to bring up their 100-run partnership.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was eventually dismissed in the 14th over but not before taking the game away from LSG and putting RR on the brink of victory.
Dhruv Jurel, who scored his fifth fifty of the season, and Donovan Ferreira then added the finishing touches to help the Royals over the finish line and keep them firmly in the IPL 2026 playoffs race.
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Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Lucknow Super Giants got off to a flying start as openers Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis took the attack to the RR bowlers, powering LSG to 83/0 at the end of the first six overs.
Inglis, who brought up his fifty off 23 balls just after the powerplay, continued to dominate as LSG reached the 100-run mark in the eighth over before Yash Raj Punia finally provided RR with the breakthrough by disturbing the Australian’s stumps.
Nicholas Pooran was the new batter in for LSG and put on a 42-run partnership with skipper Marsh but Yash Raj Punia returned to the attack and picked up his second wicket of the evening.
Pooran’s dismissal allowed Rajasthan Royals to apply the brakes briefly, with the bowlers pulling back Lucknow Super Giants’ scoring rate as Marsh and new batter Rishabh Pant were kept relatively quiet for the next few overs.
However, the pair responded with a crucial 64-run partnership in good time to steer the Super Giants towards a competitive total, despite a superb final over from Jofra Archer that yielded three wickets.
The Royals will play their final league game of the season against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on Sunday. A win in the match will confirm RR a playoff spot.
Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants, IPL 2026, brief scores: LSG 220/5 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 96; Yash Raj Punia 2/35) lost to RR 225/3 in 19.1 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 75; Mohsin Khan 1/31) by seven wickets.
