Rajasthan Royals knocked Hyderabad out of the tournament with a 47-run win.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed 97 runs off just 29 balls with 12 sixes.
Jofra Archer broke the back of Hyderabad's batting with 3 wickets.
Rajasthan will now face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier-2.
Mullanpur | In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Eliminator match, Rajasthan Royals have knocked Sunrisers Hyderabad out of the tournament by defeating them by 47 runs. On the back of Vaibhav Suryavanshi's explosive innings and Jofra Archer's lethal bowling, Rajasthan has taken another step towards the final.
Suryavanshi's Tornado, Rajasthan Posts a Huge Score
Losing the toss and batting first at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in Mullanpur on Wednesday, Rajasthan Royals had a blistering start. Opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi attacked the Hyderabad bowlers right from the beginning.
Suryavanshi played shots all around the ground and played an incredible innings of 97 runs in just 29 balls. In his innings, he hit 5 fours and 12 towering sixes. He missed his century by just 3 runs but had laid a strong foundation for his team.
His partner Yashasvi Jaiswal also made a significant contribution of 29 runs. The duo shared a stormy partnership of 125 runs for the first wicket in just 7.6 overs, which pushed Hyderabad onto the back foot.
Jurel and Parag Provide a Good Finish
Even after Suryavanshi's dismissal, Rajasthan's run rate did not slow down. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel took charge in the middle order and played a brisk innings of 50 runs in only 21 balls.
Captain Riyan Parag also accelerated the team's score with 26 runs in 12 balls. In the end, Ravindra Jadeja (12*) took the team to a massive score of 243 for 8 in 20 overs.
For Hyderabad, Praful Hinge was the most successful bowler, taking 3 wickets. However, captain Pat Cummins proved to be very expensive, conceding 64 runs in his 4 overs.
Chasing a huge target of 244 runs, Sunrisers Hyderabad's start was nothing short of a nightmare. The team lost its biggest wicket in the very first over.
Rajasthan's fast bowler Jofra Archer sent the in-form batsman Abhishek Sharma back to the pavilion for a duck in his first over. This was a major blow for Hyderabad, from which the team could not recover.
After the match, captain Riyan Parag said, Suryavanshi's innings was unbelievable. He set the foundation for the match for us. The bowlers also performed brilliantly under pressure, especially Archer who changed the game in the powerplay.
Defeat Was Sealed in the Powerplay
Hyderabad's defeat was almost sealed within the powerplay. Ishan Kishan raised some hopes with a quick innings of 33 runs, but Archer made him his victim as well.
After this, Archer broke Hyderabad's back by bowling the dangerous Travis Head (17). In the 6 overs of the powerplay, Hyderabad had lost 4 crucial wickets and the team was completely under pressure.
Yash Punja also dashed Hyderabad's hopes by getting Heinrich Klaasen (18) out LBW. Half the team was back in the pavilion by the 7th over.
Nitish-Salil's Efforts Go in Vain
Amidst falling wickets, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Salil Arora tried to put up a fight. Nitish scored 38 runs in 20 balls, while Salil, who came in as an impact player, contributed 35 runs.
Both played some good shots, but it was too late by then, and the required run rate was constantly climbing. Ravindra Jadeja broke this partnership by dismissing Nitish.
In the end, Shivang Kumar scored 27 runs, but it was only enough to reduce the margin of defeat. The entire team was all out for 196 runs in 19.2 overs.
With this victory, Rajasthan Royals will now face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier-2 in New Chandigarh on May 29. The winner of this match will play against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final in Ahmedabad on May 31.
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