Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in action [Source: AP]Young Indian batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi extended his purple patch in the IPL 2026, as he smashed a belligerent fifty in the RR Vs RCB encounter. Opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals, Sooryavanshi hammered 78 runs off just 26 deliveries, helping his side chase a sizeable target of 202 runs in 18 overs. While Vaibhav Sooryavanshi achieved several phenomenal landmarks, his breathtaking knock dragged the defending champions to the IPL hall of shame. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi powers RR to glory against RCBAfter winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag elected to bowl first, inviting the Royal Challengers to bat. Despite reeling at 125 for seven, RCB managed to breach the 200-run mark, thanks to Rajat Patidar's valiant fifty and valuable contributions from Venkatesh Iyer and Romario Shepherd. In response, the Royals lost their most reliable batter, Yashasvi Jaiswal, early in the innings. Although the southpaw was dismissed cheaply by Josh Hazlewood, his opening partner Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made up for his early departure. The 15-year-old wonderkid smashed the RCB bowlers to all parts of the ground. He treated legends like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood with sheer audacity, playing disdainful shots off their bowling. Also Read: "Dhua Nikaal Diya": Vaibhav Sooryavanshi IPL Blitz Against RCB Bowlers Bags Fan PraiseHe eventually brought up a scintillating 15-ball half-century, shattering multiple records in this process. His knock and Dhruv Jurel's counterattacking 81* helped Rajasthan Royals extend their unbeaten streak, while RCB attained an unwanted feat following their first loss of the season. RCB joins Punjab Kings on top of unwanted IPL listVaibhav Sooryavanshi's fireworks meant the game was done and dusted for the Royal Challengers earlier than expected. This was the seventh time RCB failed to defend a 200-plus total. While 200 is generally considered safe in T20 cricket, RCB is the only team apart from Punjab Kings to lose seven IPL matches despite scoring more than 200 runs in an innings. This shows their bowling attack hasn't been quite lethal over the years, with batters exposing that loophole quite frequently in the IPL. Most defeats while defending 200+ targets in the IPL 7 - PBKS, RCB* 6 - CSK 5 - KKRLed by Rajat Patidar, RCB were also unbeaten in seven consecutive away matches in the IPL. Thus, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's mayhem broke their dream run, marking their first-ever defeat in an away game after seven straight victories. Rajasthan Royals near Mumbai Indians on elite listRiding on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's batting exploits, RR chased a target of 202 runs in the 16th match of the IPL 2026. Thus, they chased a target of more than 200 runs for the fifth time in IPL history and inched five-time champions Mumbai Indians on the elite list. Most Times Successful Chases 200+ Runs in the IPL9 - PBKS6 - MI5 - RR*As mentioned above, Punjab Kings have chased 200-plus targets successfully the most times among all IPL teams. Talking about Rajasthan Royals, the Riyan Parag-led side currently claims the first position on the points table with four consecutive wins. They will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their fift match on April 3. Also Read: IPL 2026: PBKS vs SRH Prediction, Match 17- Who Will Win Today?
