There is just no stopping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The wonder kid continues to light up the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, and the Rajasthan Royals’ opening batter blew away the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Friday at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. Lasting just 26 balls in the middle, the 15-year-old smashed 78 runs with the help of eight boundaries and seven sixes to help the hosts make light work of the 202-run target. Just like against Jasprit Bumrah, Sooryavanshi did not take a backward step against Josh Hazlewood and smashed the Australian pacer for fun.
With this whirlwind 78-run knock, Sooryavanshi also grabbed hold of the Orange Cap, and the boy wonder continues to go from strength to strength in the IPL 2026 edition, where most expected him to suffer from second-season blues. As expected, the youngster was named the Player of the Match after Rajasthan Royals registered their fourth win on the trot to further consolidate their position at the top of the points table.
At the post-match presentation, Sooryavanshi explained why he’s not overawed by bowlers like Bumrah and Hazlewood, saying his focus is always on playing the ball rather than the bowler. In the match against RCB, Sooryavanshi played just four balls against the Australian pacer, but smashed him for 18 runs, with three fours and one six.
“At the back of the mind, it stays who is bowling, but I was trying to play the ball, not look at the bowler, and play the ball according to what it is, play my game,” said Sooryavanshi.
“I just try to do what I do in practice, do the same, don’t try anything extra and back my natural game,” he added.
The left-hander was on course for getting the first century of the IPL 2026 edition; however, he ended up losing his wicket against the run of play off the bowling of Krunal Pandya. Virat Kohli took an excellent diving catch in the deep to send the youngster back to the hut.
After getting out, Sooryavanshi was extremely disappointed, and the dejection of missing out on the hundred was clearly on his face.
Speaking about his reaction, Sooryavanshi said, “If I stay on the wicket, then another 10-20 runs can be made, if we are chasing the target, then we can finish it two overs earlier, or if we set the target, then 10-20 runs can be made more. So I regret it if I am out by playing a loose shot, because the team is going minus, and I just get a little upset that I could have played longer.”
‘My guardian’
The Rajasthan Royals’ opening batter also said that the franchise’s team manager, Romi Bhinder, is his guardian, and that he always tells him his journey is long. Hence, he needs to remain patient and go about his business.
“Here, my guardian is Romi sir. At home, there is Papa and my coaches. So all these people keep telling me that the journey is very long, this has just started, so you have to focus on your process and your work, you have to focus on the game without looking here and there,” said Sooryavanshi.
The left-handed batter has so far scored 200 runs in four matches in the IPL 2026 season, and is at the top of the Orange Cap leaderboard, being 17 runs ahead of the second-placed Yashasv Jaiswal, his opening partner.
