Mayhem, carnage and whatnot. The adjectives are now just falling short to describe Vaibhav Sooryavanshi‘s exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals opening batter is now the holder of the Orange Cap following his 78-run blitz against the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Friday. The young batter from Samastipur, Bihar, didn’t show any nerves when Rajasthan came out to chase 202, and went about his business just like any other day.
One was expecting to see his approach against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood, but Sooryavanshi did not alter his game plan as he went after the duo inside the powerplay, and the two senior pros looked short for answers. One expected the 15-year-old to be overawed by the two; rather, it was the opposite.
Virat Kohli, the RCB talisman, experienced Sooryavanshi’s destruction firsthand, and it was no surprise to see the former India captain have words of encouragement for the youngster.
Once the fixture between Rajasthan and RCB got over, Sooryavanshi managed to get an autograph from the King himself. The Indian great signed Sooryavanshi’s Rajasthan Royals cap and wrote a small message for the youngster after his blitz against RCB.
“Dear Vaibhav, well done,” Kohli wrote for Sooryavanshi.
One thought Rajasthan would face a tricky chase of 202. Still, Sooryavanshi’s onslaught absolutely killed the momentum for RCB, and the Riyan Parag-led side registered a comprehensive six-wicket win with 12 balls to spare to register their fourth win on the trot. With this victory, the Royals consolidated their position at the top of the IPL 2026 points table.
Orange Cap holder
With the knock against RCB, Sooryavanshi moved ahead of his opening partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal, to become the holder of the Orange Cap. The left-handed batter now has 200 runs in four matches, including two half-centuries.
Both of his fifties against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and RCB came off just 15 balls. In the match against the defending champions, Sooryanshi put on 108 runs off 37 balls for the second wicket with Dhruv Jurel.
Sooryavanshi lost his wicket to Krunal Pandya, but Jurel continued to remain unbeaten on 81 off 43 balls to help RR register an easy win.
Earlier, RCB posted 201/8 in 20 overs owing to a 63-run knock by skipper Rajat Patidar. At one stage, RCB were reeling at 125/7, but the franchise then sent Venkatesh Iyer as an impact sub, who played an unbeaten 29-run knock off 15 balls to help RCB surpass the 200-run mark.
