Sooryavanshi and Jurel demolish RCB as Rajasthan Royals extend perfect start to IPL 2026
Rajat Patidar's 63 off 40 balls had given RCB a formidable 201 for 8, but Rajasthan's reply made it look pedestrian. Sooryavanshi tore into the bowling from the first over, reaching his fifty off just 15 deliveries before Krunal Pandya eventually had him caught by Virat Kohli for 78 off 26. By that point the damage was done.
RCB post 201 but lose wickets in clusters
Phil Salt's stay ended on the first ball he faced, pinned by a sharp Jofra Archer bouncer in the powerplay. Kohli looked in superb touch, racing to 32 off 16 balls with seven boundaries, but Ravi Bishnoi bowled him through the gate on the fifth ball of the last powerplay over. RCB were 58 for 3 at that stage and in trouble.
Patidar pulled the innings together with four sixes and four fours in his 40-ball knock. Impact Sub Venkatesh Iyer then plundered 29 off 15 at the death, taking 21 from Sandeep Sharma's final over to push the total past 200. Archer finished with 2 for 33, Bishnoi took 2 for 32 and Brijesh Sharma claimed 2 for 37.
Sooryavanshi turns the chase into a mismatch
The 15-year-old opener made his intentions clear from ball one. He hammered Josh Hazlewood for three fours and a six in a statement powerplay over, and when he brought up his fifty off 15 balls the Barsapara crowd erupted. Yashasvi Jaiswal fell early for 13 to Hazlewood, but Jurel walked in and matched Sooryavanshi's aggression, smashing 24 runs off a single over to take the powerplay score to 97 for 1, the highest of IPL 2026.
Their stand produced 108 runs off just 37 deliveries at a run rate of 17.51, the second-highest run rate for any century-plus partnership in IPL history. Pandya broke the stand when Kohli held a sharp catch, but with over half the chase already done, Rajasthan were cruising.
Jurel kept his composure through a brief middle-overs wobble, brought up his own fifty and finished on 81. Ravindra Jadeja provided calm support as the pair saw Rajasthan home with two full overs to spare.
Jadeja reaches a rare T20 milestone
Jadeja's contribution with the bat was steady rather than spectacular, but his presence at the crease mattered. During the innings he became only the second Indian, after Hardik Pandya, to complete the double of 4,000 runs and 200 wickets in T20 cricket, a milestone only 25 players worldwide have reached.
RCB's first defeat of the season drops them behind the Royals, who remain unbeaten in IPL 2026. For RCB, the bowling that served them well in the opening matches had no answer once Sooryavanshi got going.
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