Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) 15-year-old wonderkid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was shattered after his team failed to reach the IPL 2026 final despite him producing another superb innings in Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans (GT) in New Chandigarh on Friday night (May 29).
Sooryavanshi, who scored 97 in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), followed that with another top knock of 96 against GT, but RR failed to advance to the final, losing by 7 wickets.
Will Sooryavanshi win Orange Cap?
Thanks to Sooryavanshi’s innings, RR posted 214/6 in 20 overs. In reply, GT captain Shubman Gill hit a century to take his team home and into the title round against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Sunday (May 31) in Ahmedabad.
Also read: IPL 2026 final preview
The left-handed opener had a phenomenal first full season in the IPL as he aggregated 776 runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.31. He could well end up as the leading run getter of the tournament if Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan don’t surpass him in the final on Sunday.
Looking at the images of Sooryavanshi after the match in New Chandigarh, former India spinner R Ashwin too felt the pain of the youngster not making the final.
What Ashwin said
“If you looked at his face after the match, you could see the sheer disappointment written all over it. This 15-year-old boy is just a little kid, but in his mind, it is always about winning the game for his team,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Also read: Gill takes GT to IPL 2026 final
“To be honest, I’d say Rajasthan Royals were never in the game from start to finish. They were just not in the game. Yashasvi Jaiswal got out, Dhruv Jurel got out the way he did, Riyan Parag got out… Ravindra Jadeja provided a little bit of company, and Donovan Ferreira at the end. Look at Dasun Shanaka, he scored maybe three runs off nine balls, during which he left two balls alone. ‘Well left’ in a T20, would you believe it? And then a bouncer… I mean, alright. Then Jofra Archer came in at number six, Donovan Ferreira was there… nobody gave Sooryavanshi any support,” he added.
“Even so, he was the lone person standing between an RR defeat and a victory. He was fighting out there all by himself. And after the 10th over, he didn’t even get the strike for two or three overs. Incredible, just incredible. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is incredible, that’s all,” he further said.
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