Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had been the focus ahead of their IPL 2026 clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad, after a sensational start to the campaign. The 15-year-old had already struck two rapid 15-ball half-centuries earlier in the season, setting up big expectations for another sharp outing at the top level.
But against SRH, the script changed quickly. Before the match, Sooryavanshi’s returns across four IPL appearances were 52, 31, 39 and 78. On Monday, he managed 0 from 1 ball, registering the first golden duck of his IPL career.
Quick facts: Sooryavanshi’s IPL 2026 flip
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was in the spotlight for RR’s IPL 2026 match vs Sunrisers Hyderabad.
- He had two 15-ball half-centuries earlier in the season.
- His IPL match scores before this game were 52, 31, 39, and 78.
- Against SRH, he scored 0 off 1 ball (first golden duck in IPL).
- Earlier, he had been dismissed for a duck only once in the IPL, in 2025 vs Mumbai Indians after facing two deliveries.
After the dismissal, Sooryavanshi appeared visibly stunned, the kind of moment that can swing momentum in a high-pressure T20 contest.
SRH’s big total: Kishan leads the charge
While RR watched Sooryavanshi struggle, Sunrisers Hyderabad built their innings around captain Ishan Kishan’s aggressive tempo. Kishan struck a brisk 91 off 44 balls, before a late surge from Nitish Reddy and Salil Arora pushed SRH to 216 for six in the match.
Kishan looked completely at ease during his time in the middle, smashing eight fours and six sixes. He added 88 runs with Heinrich Klaasen, who contributed 40 off 26 balls as the partnership carried SRH into a dominant position.
In the closing phase, Reddy hit a 13-ball 28, while Arora stayed unbeaten on 24 off 13 deliveries. Their finishing ensured the innings didn’t just accelerate, but also held together under the pressure of the death overs.
Early wicket and boundary burst
At the start of SRH’s innings, Abhishek Sharma tried to go big immediately, stepping down the wicket on the first ball. The attempt didn’t quite stick—he sliced a delivery from Jofra Archer (who finished with 2/37 in four overs) into the hands of Ravi Bishnoi in the deep for a clean catch.
After that, Kishan found the ropes quickly. He flicked Archer past short fine leg for a boundary and then deposited another ball into the stands over deep midwicket for a six.
In the next over, Kishan reached for a maximum by clearing third man against Nandre Burger. He then struck Sandeep Sharma over the bowler’s head for another big hit and followed it up with a four off Tushar Deshpande through the midwicket region.
Even as Kishan kept landing blows, Travis Head struggled to get going. His stay ended when RR skipper Riyan Parag brought himself into the attack right after the powerplay and struck—Head was caught in the deep by Donovan Ferreira for a laboured 18-ball 18.
Parag’s decision to come in immediately after the powerplay paid off, and it offered RR the kind of wicket that can tighten the batting plan. Still, Kishan remained unfazed and continued with clarity.
Kishan completed his fifty in 30 balls, including a huge six over deep midwicket off leg-spinner Bishnoi. With the boundaries coming regularly, SRH’s 100 arrived in 10.3 overs, a stretch boosted by Deshpande conceding 21 runs in that over.
Klaasen’s late hits and the end of Kishan’s innings
Klaasen then added a finishing touch of his own by lofting Bishnoi over long-on for a six, before following up with a four off Archer. Kishan continued the pressure as well, collecting three consecutive boundaries off Archer to move to 91.
As the score climbed, there was also a brief interruption inside the stadium when the lights went off for a moment—yet the momentum didn’t disappear. Kishan went for one shot too many, attempting a pull and mistiming it, but Sandeep held onto the catch off his own bowling despite colliding with wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel.
With that, the meaningful phase of Kishan’s innings ended, leaving SRH to rely on the late contributions that ultimately took them to 216 for six.
