Jaipur: Vice-captain Ishan Kishan smashed a match-winning 74 off 31 balls to propel Sunrisers Hyderabad to a commanding five-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in the 36th IPL 2026 match at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday.
Chasing a daunting 229, SRH overhauled the target in just 18.3 overs.
Rajasthan Royals earlier blazed to 228 for six after being put in to bat, powered by teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s explosive 103 off 37 balls-featuring a century off just 36 deliveries-and Dhruv Jurel’s composed 51 off 25. Sooryavanshi set the tone with 25 runs, including four sixes, in the opening over from Praful Hinge, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jurel kept the momentum alive before late contributions from Donovan Ferreira (33 off 16) and Shimron Hetmyer (11) pushed the total higher. Eshan Malinga claimed two for 38 for SRH, with Pat Cummins, Hinge, Sakib Hussain, and Nitish Kumar Reddy taking one wicket apiece.
SRH’s chase began shakily with Travis Head falling for six off Jofra Archer in the first over, despite an early dropped chance. Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma quickly turned the tide, racing to 89 for no loss in the powerplay. Kishan unleashed three boundaries off Archer, while Abhishek hammered three fours against Nandre Burger and survived a dropped catch from Ravindra Jadeja. Both reached fifties-Abhishek off 24 balls, Kishan off 25-through a 132-run stand before Archer dismissed Abhishek for 57 off 29 in the 10th over.
Kishan fell soon after, edging Archer to end his fiery knock, but Heinrich Klaasen (29 off 24) and Nitish Reddy (36 off 18) steadied proceedings with smart rotation and big hits, including sixes from both. Salil Arora finished the job with a six, sealing victory with nine balls remaining.
Jofra Archer finished with two for 34 for RR, but their bowlers couldn’t stem SRH’s onslaught.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 228/6 in 20 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 103, Dhruv Jurel 51, Donovan Ferreira 33; Eshan Malinga 2/38) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 229/5 in 18.3 overs (Ishan Kishan 74, Abhishek Sharma 57; Jofra Archer 2/34) by five wickets.