Vaibhav Sooryavanshi turned the tables on Praful Hinge in a dramatic IPL 2026 clash between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, delivering a brutal early onslaught that quickly erased the memory of their last meeting. In the previous encounter, Hinge had ripped through Sooryavanshi—striking him for a golden duck—and then added four more wickets, sealing Player of the Match honours. This time, though, the script flipped from ball one as Sooryavanshi took on the pacer immediately, setting a tone that his side carried through the powerplay.
Key takeaways
- In their earlier clash, Praful Hinge dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for a golden duck and finished with four wickets, winning Player of the Match.
- Before this game, Hinge had explicitly said he wanted to remove Sooryavanshi on the very first ball of the contest.
- During this meeting, Sooryavanshi launched a counterattack in the opening over, striking four consecutive sixes.
- The first over ended with Rajasthan reaching 25 without loss, with Sooryavanshi on 24 from just five deliveries.
- Sooryavanshi reached his half-century in 15 balls during the powerplay, marking his third 15-ball fifty of the season.
- Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to field; he returned after a back issue and replaced Dilshan Madushanka in the XI.
Hinge’s bold promise vs Sooryavanshi’s instant reply
When these two sides met previously, Hinge had set the tone early. He removed Sooryavanshi for a golden duck, then went on to take a total of four wickets, earning the Player of the Match award. After that performance, Hinge had laid out his thinking clearly, saying the standout moment for him was the first wicket because Sooryavanshi was in form. He added that he had already told people he would get him out on the first ball—either by using a bouncer or in some other way—and that his aim was specifically to strike immediately.
But in the IPL 2026 encounter, Sooryavanshi delivered a response that arrived at exactly the same moment Hinge had targeted. Opening the innings, he faced the first over and immediately went after the bowler, unleashing a violent run of hitting. The spell produced four straight sixes, a sequence that completely seized the momentum and pushed the contest decisively in Rajasthan’s favour from the outset.
Ruthless powerplay momentum
The over concluded with Rajasthan on 25 without loss. Sooryavanshi had already raced to 24 off only five balls, and the aggression didn’t fade. Hinge tried to vary his lines and lengths, but nothing appeared to disrupt the batter’s timing. Whether the delivery came on a good length or arrived shorter, the outcome remained consistent—Sooryavanshi kept clearing the boundary.
That chain of sixes didn’t just counter the earlier dismissal; it effectively wiped the slate clean and defined the pace of the innings. With that early surge as a platform, Sooryavanshi carried the momentum forward and reached his half-century in just 15 balls during the powerplay. It was another lightning-quick fifty in the season for him, following similar efforts earlier in the campaign against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings. In total, it marked the third time Vaibhav Sooryavanshi brought up a 15-ball fifty in IPL 2026.
Toss, team changes, and Cummins’ return
Earlier in the match, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to field. Cummins was returning to action for the first time since December, having recovered from a back problem that had kept him out of the IPL for a period. For this game, he came into the playing XI and replaced Dilshan Madushanka. On the other side, Rajasthan Royals made a like-for-like change as they brought in Praful Hinge in place of Harsh Dubey.
