IPL 2026: Archer takes a jibe at Punjab, know what he said after the win against Hyderabad?

Delhi: In the important match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 playoffs, Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 47 runs and secured a place in Qualifier-2. After this victory, the team’s fast bowler Joffra Archer indirectly targeted the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and said that the Rajasthan team wants to stay down to earth and is playing better cricket at the right time.

Also read: SRH’s tension increased due to Abhishek before the eliminator match against RR! Know the whole matter

Rajasthan had made a brilliant comeback in the last round of the league stage. The team made it to the playoffs by winning two consecutive matches, while Punjab Kings was out of the tournament after losing six out of the last seven matches.

Archer took taunt without taking the name of Punjab Kings

In the conversation after the match, Joffra Archer said that his team is in great form at the moment, but he does not want to call it the best performance. He said that the team is slowly moving in the right direction and that is the most important thing.

Archer said, “We are very confident. We are just focusing on one match at a time. I would not say that we have reached our peak, but we are moving in the right direction at the right time. We do not want what happened with the Punjab team to happen to us. Every player in our team is contributing and that is our biggest strength.”

Archer changed the course of the match in powerplay

Sunrisers Hyderabad, which set out to chase the big target of 244 runs, had a very poor start. Joffra Archer turned the tide of the match by dismissing dangerous batsmen like Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Travis Head during the powerplay.

Although his figures were three wickets for 58 runs in four overs, Archer believes that the entire bowling unit performed as planned.

He said, “Leaving the statistics aside, I think our bowlers bowled very well. All the players followed their plans and bowled the ball at the right length. We got the benefit of that in this match.”

Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s explosive innings stole the show

The biggest hero of Rajasthan’s victory was young batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi. He destroyed the Sunrisers bowlers by playing a stormy innings of 97 runs in just 29 balls.

Impressed by Vaibhav’s batting, Archer jokingly said that he wants the young batsman to score 150 runs in future, so that the bowlers have more scores to defend.

Archer said, “It was very exciting to watch his batting, the more runs he scores, the better it will be for our bowlers. Even if he scores 150 runs, we will be absolutely happy.”

Also read: List of teams that played most eliminator matches in IPL

Now Rajasthan will compete with Gujarat

Rajasthan Royals will now face Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier-2. This match between the two teams will be played on May 29 in Mullanpur.