Sunrisers Hyderabad's campaign at the Indian Premier League 2026 came to a heartbreaking end after they were handed a 47-run loss in the eliminator by Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday at PCA New Cricket Stadium. SRH were completely overpowered by RR, and at the centre of it was opener and batting star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who launched a brutal assault in a highly skilful knock of 97 off 29 balls, featuring 12 sixes and five boundaries.
He took a liking to SRH captain Pat Cummins, slamming him for three magnificent sixes in a row. Cummins was the most expensive bowler for SRH, going wicketless and leaking 64 runs in his four overs. Speaking on SRH's overall campaign, captain Pat Cummins lauded the performance of young players in the squad.
"Yeah, that's right. I think we were one tiny little bit away from being in the top two as well. So you can't ask for much more. The boys have been fantastic: their attitude all year, the way they've gone about it. It looks like they've really enjoyed their cricket, so I can't ask for any more,” Pat Cummins said at the post-match presentation.
Cummins also lauded Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for his superb knock that powered RR to a brilliant total of 243/8 in 20 overs – their highest-ever IPL total.
“Yeah, he played pretty well. Yeah, just don't feel like you have too many options. Obviously, it's a really good pitch, but the margins are so small. If you miss your yorker by a little bit, he doesn't tend to miss them. So yeah, fair play,” Cummins said.
Chasing the target, SRH found themselves under pressure after Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head lost their wickets for 0 and 17, respectively. Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen, blasting 33 and 18, tried to revive the chase, but once they lost their wickets, the game was done for SRH. RR will now face GT in the Qualifier 2 on Friday at the same venue. The winner of this clash will march into the final, where RCB are already waiting.