NEW DELHI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again stole the spotlight as the 15-year-old produced a stunning 93 off just 38 balls to guide Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in a crucial IPL 2026 clash in Jaipur. The victory kept Rajasthan firmly alive in the playoff race, with the team now needing one more win against Mumbai Indians to strengthen their qualification hopes.Chasing a huge target of 221, Rajasthan looked fearless from the start. Sooryavanshi smashed 10 sixes and attacked almost every bowler, making the difficult chase look surprisingly easy. He first added a quick partnership with stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal before building another massive stand with Dhruv Jurel, who stayed unbeaten with a half-century. Although the teenager missed his century by just seven runs, he had already taken the game away from Lucknow.Former cricketer Ian Bishop summed up the youngster’s brilliance perfectly on commentary, saying: “He is ready.”Earlier, Mitchell Marsh had powered Lucknow to 220/5 with a brutal 96 off 57 balls. Josh Inglis also played aggressively, scoring 60 as the pair gave LSG a flying start with a 109-run opening partnership. Marsh continued the attack even after Inglis got out, smashing boundaries all around the ground and narrowly missing out on a century.However, Rajasthan’s bowlers struggled for most of the innings, with only young spinner Yash Raj Punja managing to create some control with two wickets. Jofra Archer’s disciplined final over also helped limit further damage.The young batter is now closing in on several IPL records, including Chris Gayle’s mark for most sixes in a season. His fearless batting even put pressure on India pacer Mayank Yadav, who conceded heavily during one over.While Lucknow’s playoff hopes ended with the defeat, Rajasthan now head into their final league match with qualification still within reach.
