Hi and welcome to India Today’s live coverage of the Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2026 Eliminator clash in Mullanpur.

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins revealed that his team has prepared several tactical bowling options to deal with teenage star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ahead of the IPL 2026 Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals.

Cummins acknowledged that players like Vaibhav, who are capable of changing the course of a match in just a handful of overs, force opposition attacks to think beyond their usual methods and prepare alternate strategies in advance.

The SRH skipper suggested that containing an aggressive young batter requires flexibility from bowlers, especially in high-pressure knockout matches where momentum can swing rapidly.

“It’s always a balance of, as a bowler, understanding what you do well and how you’re going to bowl to your strengths,” Cummins said.

“But when there are probably one or two players in every lineup who can take the game away from the opposition, you do spend a little bit longer working on a Plan B or Plan C.”

“So, yeah, we’ll plan for him. Even though he got a hundred against us last time, I thought there were times when we actually bowled quite well to him and kept him quiet. At other times, he got away from us. So, we’ll learn from that.”

The New Chandigarh stadium is slowly building up, according to our very own Akshay Ramesh. The temperature is 42 right now, but Akshay says it feels like 50.

The curators have started to roll the pitch.

This contest could very well be shaped within the first six overs.

Jofra Archer produced one of Rajasthan Royals’ defining moments of the season with his fiery spell against Mumbai Indians, a performance that effectively pushed RR into the playoffs. The fast bowler has played a huge role in Rajasthan’s victories this year, claiming eight wickets in winning causes at an impressive average of 17.12 while conceding runs at just over eight an over. Those numbers, however, dip considerably when RR end up on the losing side.

Now, Archer faces perhaps his toughest assignment yet. Containing Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma in the powerplay.

There is already an interesting rivalry developing between them. Archer has removed Head three times in T20 cricket overall, while he also dismissed Abhishek for a golden duck earlier in the season. Yet, despite those setbacks, both Hyderabad openers have still managed to attack him aggressively, scoring at strike rates exceeding 160.

Head, in particular, has struggled for rhythm recently with scores of 0, 6 and 26 in his last three innings. Rajasthan will hope Archer’s heavy back-of-a-length bowling and sharp short ball continue to unsettle the Australian at the top.

Because if Head and Abhishek manage to negotiate that early storm, the conditions at Mullanpur could quickly transform the Eliminator into another boundary-filled spectacle.

Sunrisers Hyderabad Predicted XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Pat Cummins (c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain

Impact Player: Harshal Patel/Praful Hinge

Rajasthan Royals Predicted XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Dasun Shanaka, Donovan Ferreira, Jofra Archer, Shubham Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma

There are no injury concerns within the Hyderabad camp at the moment. All the players look to be in fine form at the moment and in high spirits. The only decision SRH will have to make is about their impact player. Will they opt to go with Harshal Patel or Praful Hinge.

Rajasthan has injury concerns as both Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja are currently nursing injuries. Parag seems to have shaken off an injury, but the participation of Jadeja may depend on a late fitness test.

The conditions in New Chandigarh could quietly end up deciding far more than the star names on the team sheets.

The relentless summer heat in North India has refused to ease even during evening games, and with Pitch 4 at Mullanpur expected to be used once again, both teams already have a fair idea of what kind of contest awaits them.

And history on this surface suggests one thing clearly. Runs will come, and they could come fast.

Earlier in the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad piled up 219 on the very same pitch against Punjab Kings, only for Punjab to chase the target down with surprising comfort. That game perfectly captured the nature of batting in Mullanpur this year: brutal scoring early on before conditions begin to slow down after the powerplay overs.

The numbers back that up as well.

The average first-innings score at the venue this season has hovered around 214, while Punjab even managed to breach the 250-run mark here against Lucknow Super Giants. It has been one of the most batting-friendly venues in the tournament, particularly when the ball is hard and skidding nicely onto the bat.

But hidden beneath those intimidating batting numbers is an interesting subplot.

Spinners have actually enjoyed slightly more control at the venue compared to pacers. While fast bowlers have gone at over 11 runs per over this season, spinners have managed to keep things relatively tighter with an economy rate of 9.29.

That subtle difference could heavily influence team selection for Hyderabad heading into the Eliminator.

The IPL playoffs have arrived for teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi almost as quickly as fame itself did. At just 15 years old, the youngster now finds himself walking into the biggest game of his short career, an Eliminator clash, where every run, every shot, and every moment will be magnified under the playoff spotlight.

For Rajasthan Royals, Vaibhav has become more than just a breakout story. He has become the spark behind their late push into the playoffs, a fearless batter capable of shifting momentum within a few overs. And now, with the knockout stage here, RR will once again look towards their teenage prodigy to deliver when it matters the most.

But waiting for them in New Chandigarh is a side that knows exactly how dangerous Vaibhav can be, and more importantly, a side that knows how to survive the Eliminator route better than anyone else. Sunrisers Hyderabad remain the only team in IPL history to lift the trophy after coming through the Eliminator path since 2016, and around the franchise, there will quietly be a feeling that maybe 2026 is the new 2016.

The equation is brutally simple now. Win and move one step closer to the title with a Qualifier 2 clash against Gujarat Titans waiting next. Lose, and the season ends immediately.

While Vaibhav and his fearless batting has dominated headlines in recent weeks, SRH enter the contest carrying a major psychological advantage. They have already defeated Rajasthan twice this season and are currently on a six-match winning streak against them stretching back to 2022.

Their first meeting this year was one-sided, with Hyderabad crushing RR by 57 runs after bowlers Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain ripped through Royals’ batting lineup with eight wickets between them. The second clash in Jaipur looked like it would belong entirely to Vaibhav after the teenager smashed a breathtaking 36-ball century, but even that extraordinary innings could not stop SRH from completing another victory.

Royals’ playoff qualification itself came only at the very end of the league stage. Consecutive wins over struggling sides helped them recover from a shaky stretch where stand-in captain Riyan Parag openly admitted the team did not deserve a top-four finish if they continued performing the way they had been.

SRH, meanwhile, arrive with their own frustrations. Their hopes of a top-two finish took a massive hit after that shocking collapse for 86 against Gujarat Titans, a result that wrecked their net run rate and forced them into the Eliminator route despite being one of the most dangerous batting units in the competition.

Which is what makes this contest so fascinating.

On one side stands a young Rajasthan team powered by the fearlessness of a teenage sensation trying to prove he can thrive even under playoff pressure. On the other stands a Hyderabad side carrying experience, momentum, and the belief that its explosive batting lineup can overpower anyone on the right night.

The IPL playoffs are finally here. And for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the biggest stage has arrived much sooner than anyone expected.

Source: India Today