The reigning champions of the current IPL 2026 season have come to an end. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered their first defeat in the ongoing campaign as, after winning the first two matches, they were defeated by Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati tonight.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) easily won their fourth consecutive win. Despite losing several wickets at crucial moments, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel made the run chase easy for the team. Chasing the target of 202 runs, RR won the match with 6 wickets and 12 balls to spare.
Suryavanshi and Jurel snatched the moment from RCB
Achieving the target of 202 was not easy. Rajasthan’s run chase looked easy because of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel. Suryavanshi started the innings in his own style and hit big shots on the bowlers. The bidding opener scored 78 runs off 26 balls with an impressive strike rate of 300.00. His impressive innings was studded with eight fours and seven sixes.
The early momentum that Suryavanshi provided to the team was properly carried forward by Jurel, who remained at the crease with an unbeaten 81 runs at a strike rate of 43. Jurel’s match-winning batting set the tone for Rajasthan.
In the middle stage of the second innings, when RR lost several wickets, including that of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the keeper-batsman remained calm and waited for the right time to accelerate the run rate.
Jay Hazlewood starts IPL 2926 with defeat
Josh Hazlewood played his first match of IPL 2026, but it was not one of his best matches with RCB. The fast bowler took a few wickets but scored runs at an economy rate of 11.00 in 4 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar could not take any wicket giving 37 runs after bowling 4 overs.
Krunal Pandya performed brilliantly by taking two wickets at an economy rate of just 7.50. The rest of RCB’s bowling unit proved too costly in defending the total of 201 runs. This is RCB’s first defeat in a specified away game in a group fixture since losing to KKR at the Eden Gardens in 2024.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi brought a big change: Rajat Patidar
RCB captain Rajat Patidar said after the match, “I think the way we started in the powerplay, the early wickets and 202 runs from there, I think it’s a positive sign for us. And also, the way their batsmen, especially Vaibhav, batted in the powerplay made a lot of difference. I think the way we are, I think in our previous games, that was fantastic.”
“But I think there was a lot to be learned from this game. I don’t think so much because Venky, Sheppey (Shepherd) and KP were there. So I think we had to manage those overs with all three bowlers. I don’t think it made a big difference.”
“I think if you are playing such competitive cricket, especially in the IPL, mistakes will happen. But the important thing is how you look at it, you have to learn from your mistakes,” he said.
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