Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur witnessed yet another masterclass from teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on Tuesday evening as Rajasthan Royals (RR) overcame a daunting 221-run target to beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by seven wickets in Match 64 of IPL 2026.
The victory put an end to RR’s three-match losing streak and put them in fourth place on the points table as they went into the last week of the league portion.
LSG Set Up a Mammoth Total
Sent off after losing the toss, LSG were hit on the head by the Australian duo of Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis. The first two were on the offensive side with no need to be inhibited by a team on the playoff front, with Marsh hitting a four and six off the bowling of Jofra Archer.
Inglis scored his second IPL-2026 half-century in 23 deliveries before finally getting clean bowled by Yash Raj Punia at 60 for 29 balls. RR bowlers were already on the back foot with the hundred-run opening stand coming in in just 48 deliveries. Nicholas Pooran then joined Marsh to chase the 150 and he scored 42 off 11 in the second wicket for LSG to get over the 150 mark.
Marsh then partnered Rishabh Pant (35 off 23 balls) for another half-century stand to take LSG past the 200-run mark, before Pant ran himself out off the very first ball of the final over.
The ‘Bison’ of cricketing lore, Marsh was a muscular structure beyond price, he smashed 11 fours and five sixes, one of which was a six over extra cover, a beautiful combination of the time and power.
Marsh was bowled out agonisingly short of his century, pushing Ayush Badoni for 96/57, before Jofra Archer’s searing yorker claimed the wicket in the top scoring challenge of the innings to keep LSG to 220 for 5. It was Archer’s five-run final over that provided an important psychological boost for RR as they started the chase.
Chase Belongs to Vaibhav
Both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi contributed to the solid foundation with 71 runs at the base of the score in the powerplay without conceding any runs. Jaiswal was in imperious touch very early, thumping Akash Singh’s wayward shot off the edge of the plate in the very first over. But, the teenager Sooryavanshi was the show stealer when he got going.
Sooryavanshi was a different player on 5 off 10 delivered a different approach to cricket – T20 cricket – and made good use of the video game like attributes of the game.
All deliveries were made with authority and good-length balls, short balls were all made. The boy from Bihar was once again displaying his amazing range with the big sixes coming from the off side as well as the leg side.
Sooryavanshi brought up his fifty in just 23 balls and proceeded to add 42 more runs off the next 13 he faced. The Sawai Mansingh supporters were roaring with each hit.
The man who burst onto the IPL scene in 2024 and became India’s new fastest bowler, Mayank Yadav, was sent for 29 runs in a single over — short balls pulled, fuller balls driven and anything that went wide, driven away.
Jaiswal was eventually bowled for 43 off 23 balls by Akash Singh but the chase was set going by then. Sooryavanshi then followed with a fast 50-run stand with Dhruv Jurel to put RR in control.
The possibility of a second IPL century was just around the corner. Mohsin Khan, however, couldn’t miss repelling Sooryavanshi for an impressive 93 off 38 deliveries and he was caught at long-on after finishing the ball with a big shot. As he walked back to the dugout, the crowd stood up to give the 15-year-old a standing ovation, while his teammates were standing on him patting his head.
The remaining batters held their nerve to make it seven wickets for the price of the overs with 41 off the previous 36 deliveries.
Key Numbers and Context
It was Sooryavanshi’s knock that highlighted his incredible season with 10 sixes. He now has the highest strike rate (236.32) by any batsman to achieve 500+ runs in an IPL season – better than Andre Russell (205.0) in 2019.
Nevertheless, LSG has only had one bright spot in an otherwise poor season in the form of Mitchell Marsh’s 563 runs in 13 games. With the loss LSG are in danger of finishing bottom of the points table.
With the win, RR have taken their points tally to 14 in 13 matches and jumped to fourth spot, displacing Punjab Kings. Now all they have to do is secure one more victory over Mumbai Indians on May 24 to secure a playoff berth.
What’s Next
RR will play their last league match on May 24 against Mumbai Indians and if they secure a victory, they will secure a top-four finish in the league. The form of Sooryavanshi would not have come at a better time for the Royals, who will rely on their young prodigy to shoot one more shot when it’s needed.
Match 64 | IPL 2026 | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur | May 19, 2026
Lucknow Super Giants were beaten by 7 wickets by the Rajasthan Royals in the match.
