Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fought till the very last, but could not take Rajasthan Royals over the line in the IPL 2026.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fought till the very last, but could not take Rajasthan Royals over the line in the IPL 2026. After scoring 97 in the IPL 2026 Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 15-year-old wonderkid hit a 47-ball 96 against Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator too. The effort saw RR put up a total of 214/6 in 20 overs. However, Shubman Gill's 53-ball 104 eclipsed Sooryavanshi's effort as GT surpassed the target in 18.4 overs.

Though he scored at an impressive strike rate of 204.26, Sooryavanshi's knock was one of maturity. With the entire top and middle order failing, Sooryavanshi took it upon himself to ensure RR reached a respectable total. To walk on that path, Sooryavanshi had to face some terrific fast bowling from Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj. Former India star Irfan Pathan was worried at the way Sooryavanshi was subjected to bodyline bowling.

"Bodyline bowling to stop 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi doesn't fit well with me. I know he is playing against the big boys but the father in me doesn't agree with that," Pathan wrote in a post on X.

Talking about the match, Shubman Gill produced a conventional batting masterclass in the age of muscle on the way to a majestic hundred here on Friday, leading Gujarat Titans to a dominating seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals and a third final in five seasons of the Indian Premier League.

First it was boy wonder Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who played some astonishing shots in a brilliantly paced 96 off 47 balls to steer Rajasthan Royals to 214 for six after they opted to bat on a used surface in Qualifier 2.

The target was in the range of a top-heavy Titans side, but they ended up making short work of it courtesy of a special 167-run stand off 77 balls between the prolific opening duo of Gill (104 off 53) and Sai Sudharsan (58 off 32).

Freakishly, Sudharsan lost control of his bat for the second game in a row to be hit wicket. Titans coasted to the target in 18.4 overs.

Titans will meet defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday, days after being hammered by the same team in Dharamsala.

Highlighting their remarkable consistency, Titans have entered the final thrice since their inaugural season in 2022, when they lifted the trophy.