SRH Pull Off 229 Chase as Kishan, Abhishek Trump Sooryavanshi Heroics

Powerful fifties from the bats of Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma helped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) claim their fourth consecutive win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 as they defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by five wickets on Saturday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

SRH successfully chased a massive target of 229 with nine balls to spare.

Despite a brilliant 36-ball century from young RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the Sunrisers' collective batting prowess and the return of captain Pat Cummins proved decisive.

Notably, SRH's chase marked the fourth-highest run chase in IPL history. This was also the highest run chase in Jaipur.

Chasing 229, the Sunrisers faced a jittery start as they lost opener Travis Head (6) in the very first over to RR pacer Jofra Archer.

However, SRH didn't panic after the wicket as new batter Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma dismantled the RR's bowling attack in the powerplay, helping SRH to the score of 89/1 after six overs.

Kishan was particularly aggressive, striking 74 runs off 31 balls with 11 boundaries and 3 sixes.

Abhishek Sharma provided the perfect foil with a rapid 57 off 29 balls, with 11 fours and one six. Together, the duo added 132 runs off 55 balls for the second wicket.

How did Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy keep SRH on track vs RR?

While Donovan Ferreira got rid of Abhishek in the 10th over and Archer dismissed Ishan in the 13th over, Heinrich Klaasen (29) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (36) made sure that SRH's chase was still on track.

Both batters kept the required rate under control. Despite RR's efforts--highlighted by Brijesh Sharma (2/44 in 4 overs) and Jofra Archer (2/34 in 4 overs) taking two wickets apiece--the total of 228 was not enough to stop the Orange Army's charge as they chased the total in 18.3 overs.

With the win, SRH moved to the third spot in the IPL points table with five wins in eight matches and a net run rate (NRR) of 0.815.

Earlier, a sensational century from 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and a half-century from Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to 228/6 in their 20 overs.

Eshan Malinga (2/38) was the pick of the bowlers for SRH, while Cummins, Hinge, Sakib and Nitish got a wicket each. Sakib, however, leaked 62 runs in his spell.

(With inputs from ANI)