Teen tornado Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed a blistering 78 off just 26 balls as Rajasthan Royals outclassed Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets to extend their winning streak in IPL 2026 in Guwahati on Friday.
Sooryavanshi hammered eight fours and seven sixes, while Dhruv Jurel stayed unbeaten on 81 off 43 balls as Rajasthan Royals chased down the 202-run target with two overs to spare.
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Sooryavanshi raced to his half-century off just 15 balls, becoming only the fifth batsman to have scored a half-century in less than 20 balls atleast three times.
This was also Sooryavanshi’s second fifty that he has reached off 15 balls in this season the first one coming against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the same venue.
Jos Buttler and Sooryavanshi have each achieved the feat three times, while Yashasvi Jaiswal has done it twice. Michael Lumb, Ben Stokes and Nitish Rana have accomplished it once each — all registering fifties within the first six overs for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
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To set the stage, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) combined for 108 runs off 37 balls for the second wicket.
Enjoying his greatest IPL season with the willow, Jurel hit a number of elegant strokes, but when Sooryavanshi is playing well, everyone else is forced to become bridesmaids or spectators, witnessing firsthand what genius looks like.
With consecutive wickets, Krunal Pandya (2/30) attempted to rally them.
However, with two overs remaining, Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja (24) finished the work with another 68-run partnership.
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After winning five straight games in 2015 and four straight in 2024, this is the third time the Royals have begun their IPL season with four or more straight victories.
Since losing to KKR at the Eden Gardens in 2024, this is RCB’s first group match loss in a designated away game.
Earlier, Rajat Patidar led RCB to 201/8 despite several wickets falling at the other end.
After being down at 94/6 at one point, Patidar’s 40-ball-63, which included four sixes and as many boundaries, was crucial in helping RCB reach a formidable total.
While many RCB batters, including the legendary Virat Kohli (32 off 16 balls), got out while attempting to press the pace, Patidar pushed and shoved to keep the scoreboard going. Impact Sub Venkatesh Iyer scored 29 off 15 balls in the end, including 21 off Sandeep Sharma’s final over, to push the score beyond 200 runs.
The Barsapara 22-yard strip had ample underlying moisture after a continuous drizzle prior to the game, which caused extra bounce and accounted for both Phil Salt and Devdutt Padikkal, with Jofra Archer becoming the initial wrecker-in-chief. In between hitting seven boundaries, Kohli played and missed a few with both bounce and seam movement that caused some concern.
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However, RCB’s problems began when Ravi Bishnoi changed his run-up to a circular bowled google to outwit Kohli, who attempted an inside-out lofted shot over covers.
After Bishnoi got Krunal Pandya, Brijesh Sharma—a choice from the Bengal Premier League T20—got one to skid into Jitesh Sharma’s pads, making it 76/5. Before Romario Shepherd hit the first six of the innings in the twelfth over, he also dismissed Tim David.
Patidar displayed his range at the back end, but nothing was more impressive than putting on his dancing shoes and lofting Bishnoi into the stands. Venkatesh had to be used as an Impact Player in an attempt to score more runs, and he contributed to the score.
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However, RCB had to give up leg-break bowler Suyash Sharma in the process, who may have been just as successful as Bishnoi. RCB ultimately fell short of a par score by 25 runs.
