Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struck a dazzling 93 to outshine Mitchell Marsh’s 96 as Rajasthan Royals kept their IPL 2026 knockout hopes alive with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday, May 19. The 15-year-old, who has carried much of RR’s batting load this season, produced a brutal 38-ball display featuring 10 towering sixes to spearhead a successful chase of 221. Dhruv Jurel then took control at the other end, blasting an unbeaten 53 off 38 as the Royals finished the job with five balls to spare, narrowing the race for the remaining playoff spot to a single available place.
Match report: Rajasthan chase the target
Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 220/5 (20 overs) lost to Rajasthan Royals 225/3 (19.1 overs) by 7 wickets.
Key knocks: Mitchell Marsh 96 (57), Josh Inglis 60 (29), Rishabh Pant 35 (23) for LSG; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 93 (38), Dhruv Jurel 53* (38), Yashasvi Jaiswal 43 (23) for RR.
Notable bowling: Mohsin Khan 1/31 for RR.
How the chase unfolded
- Yashasvi Jaiswal set the tempo with a 75-run opening partnership alongside Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, starting the chase aggressively.
- In the early phase, Jaiswal struck a hat-trick of fours off Akash Singh, aided by a costly 23-run over that gave RR momentum.
- Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav briefly tightened things up with one disciplined over each, but Jaiswal responded immediately after.
- Jaiswal smashed a sequence of 6, 4, 4, 4 in his second over against Mohsin, with that spell costing 19 runs and keeping the required rate under control.
- Sooryavanshi began to accelerate more noticeably in the final over of the Powerplay, though it was Jaiswal’s early work that laid the foundation for what followed in the middle overs.
The Sooryavanshi burst that tilted the match
- In the sixth over against Prince Yadav, Sooryavanshi took charge with a sensational ramp shot over Rishabh Pant for a six.
- After his first partner fell to Akash Singh soon after the field restrictions lifted, Sooryavanshi shifted gears and continued to attack.
- When Akash returned in the ninth over, the teenager unleashed a 26-run surge: 6, 4, 0, 4, 6, followed by two wides, then another four—signalling his intent to finish the chase.
- Reaching a half-century in 23 balls, Sooryavanshi then struck a Digvesh Rathi googly deep into the long-off region before dispatching Prince again.
- He brought his over to a close by sending the final two deliveries sailing over the ropes on both sides of the wicket.
- With Dhruv Jurel providing support, the pressure stayed constant as Mayank’s third over vanished for 29 runs; both RR batters hit two sixes each to seize control of the contest.
- Rathi endured another difficult over before Mohsin finally managed to slow the teenager with a slower ball, denying him a potential match-defining century.
- Sooryavanshi was dismissed at the end of the 14th over for 93, but RR and the set Jurel still needed only 41 from the remaining 36 deliveries.
LSG’s innings: Marsh and Inglis build the platform
- Mitchell Marsh, fresh from a 90 against CSK, partnered with Josh Inglis to set up a strong total for Lucknow.
- Marsh began with a drive over covers off Jofra Archer and then struck a six over mid-off.
- Inglis did most of the early damage, especially against left-arm pace from Sushant Mishra, launching a 99-metre maximum.
- Inglis followed that burst by attacking Sandeep Sharma, hitting two sixes and three boundaries within six balls across his two Powerplay overs.
- Marsh also targeted Brijesh Sharma, taking 14 runs from his opening over, helping Lucknow race to 83 in the Powerplay.
- During that phase, Inglis hammered 49 off just 22 balls and then reached a rapid half-century against Yash Raj Punja.
- The bowler struck back in the very next over, ending the 109-run stand in the ninth over.
- Marsh continued to build, becoming the first LSG batter to post 500-plus runs in successive IPL seasons, and later reached another half-century off just 25 balls.
- In the 12th over, Mishra leaked three boundaries to Marsh, but Punja responded by dismissing Nicholas Pooran, whose 16-run cameo included a couple of maximums.
- Pant struggled early on, failing to find the fence in his first 10 deliveries, before finally breaking through with a straight six off Brijesh in the 16th over.
- At 182/2, LSG looked set to threaten 250, but disciplined death bowling kept them to 220.
- Jofra Archer, returning for two late overs, conceded only one boundary to the third-wicket pair and then removed both set batters in the 20th over.
- Marsh fell just short of what would have been his second IPL century of the season, yet the slowdown still left RR with a chase they could comfortably manage.
Death overs swing and the Royals’ control
Even with Marsh’s heroics driving LSG to a competitive total, RR’s late-over bowling created a window for a successful chase. Archer’s late breakthroughs ensured Lucknow never fully cashed in during the final burst, and Rajasthan never allowed the momentum to slip once Sooryavanshi and Jaiswal had put the match firmly in their hands.
What’s next for both teams
Lucknow, already eliminated, will return home for their final league match against Punjab Kings on Saturday, May 23. Rajasthan Royals travel to Mumbai next, playing their penultimate league-stage match on Sunday afternoon with their playoff qualification still firmly in their own hands.
