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Former India captain Kris Srikkanth backed Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Suryavanshi to perform in the team’s eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday.
RR finished fourth on the IPL 2026 points table at the end of the league stage and will face third-placed SRH at the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
Suryavanshi is currently RR’s leading run-scorer in IPL 2026 but could not achieve success in the last game against Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
RR reached playoffs on last day of league stage
The journey of Rajasthan Royals till reaching the playoffs was a bit of ups and downs. After winning each of their first four games, the wheels came off.
RR lost 6 out of 8 matches in the middle and had to fight for their place in the playoffs. The inaugural champions managed to win their last two games, the last of which came on the last day of the league stage of the tournament.
RR finished fourth with 16 points while SRH finished third with 18 points. The loser of their eliminator will be eliminated from the tournament, while the winner will play Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 on May 29 for a place in the final on May 31.
Royal Challengers Bangalore is already in the final after winning Qualifier 1. Qualifier 2 will be held in Mullanpur, while the final will be held at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
“If he fails in one match, he will score in the next” – Srikkanth
On his YouTube channel, Srikkanth addressed questions about RR’s chances against SRH in the playoff clash and Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s form. In his reply, Srikkanth named RR as slight favorites to come out on top.
“I believe it’s 55-45 for RR. Vaibhav Suryavanshi didn’t score in the last match, and he has that fire in him. Usually, if he fails in one game, he does well in the next. If he and Jaiswal set the tone, it will be enough for RR, Jurel is batting very well. If Archer bowls two lethal balls and removes Head and Abhishek, he gives you the powerplay. I can only finish,” he said.
Although he picked RR as favourites, Srikkanth admitted that on paper SRH were the better team and the ‘Orange Army’ had the best middle order in the tournament.
“On paper, SRH is a gun side and a far better side. They have as dangerous a batting side as RCB. But RCB scores in a more collective manner. Still, RR is a strange and dangerous side. We cannot underestimate RR. The real pluses of SRH are Kishan and Klaasen. Their Nos. 3 and 4 are very strong and have been the best 3 and 4 in the competition,” Srikkanth said.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi in IPL 2026
15 year old boy Vaibhav Suryavanshi is arguably the best batsman of IPL 2026. His explosiveness has won the hearts of many people and all of them have asked him to be included in the Indian team.
This year, he is RR’s leading run-scorer with 583 runs at an average of 41.64 and an incredible strike rate of 232. He has also scored 3 fifties and one century this year. He has also hit 53 sixes, which is a record by an Indian batsman in a single IPL season.
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