Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2026 journey came to an end just one step short of the final, with the franchise falling in Qualifier 2 against the Gujarat Titans. The loss was a tough one to absorb after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi produced a spectacular 96, but RR’s total of 214 ultimately did not hold. Gujarat chased it down successfully with eight balls remaining, and it felt—at least from Rajasthan’s perspective—that their score may have been short by roughly 15 to 20 runs. Sooryavanshi, despite his standout innings, took the defeat personally and pointed to moments where he felt he could have done more to keep Rajasthan ahead.
Speaking to the broadcasters after the IPL 2026 final—an event he attended as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player—Sooryavanshi reflected on how the game’s middle phase shaped the outcome. The 15-year-old said he believed Rajasthan had come up short by about 10 to 12 runs, but what stood out more was his own assessment of his batting approach during the overs when new batters were coming in. He suggested that he should have managed the strike better, keeping it in his control longer, especially as the pitch conditions and match tempo made it harder for incoming batters to settle.
He also offered a second, more specific point of self-criticism, linking the chase to wicket conditions at the time. In his view, the surface had become sticky and challenging, and he felt there was a misstep in how the strike was handled during that period. By allowing the new batters to face a larger share of deliveries, he believed he inadvertently made it tougher for Rajasthan to build the buffer they needed. His comments made it clear that, even though his innings was a major reason RR posted a high score, he was focused on the finer margins that can swing a chase in T20 cricket.
Sooryavanshi’s tournament, however, was nothing short of remarkable. The Bihar-born prodigy finished as the highest run-scorer of the season, accumulating 776 runs at an eye-catching strike rate of 237.30. That kind of output already places him among the standout performers of IPL 2026, but the way he analysed the finer details of his own batting—especially while addressing the defeat—underscored a level of composure and maturity that belies his age.
