Meditation Before Carnage! Former CSK Star In Awe Of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's 'Rage'

Rajasthan Royals stormed into Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2026 playoffs with a commanding 47-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator at the PCA Stadium in Mullanpur on Wednesday.

RR powered their way to 243, thanks to a sensational 97 off just 27 balls from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Jofra Archer then starred with the ball, claiming three wickets as the former champions bowled SRH out for 196 in 19.2 overs.

Former CSK spinner Ravichandran Ashwin expressed his disbelief with the youngster’s abilities with the willow and jested how the southpaw calms himself by meditating before unceasing carnage.

“This kid’s from the planet mars,” Ashwin said.

“His variety of shots isn’t normal, and during big games, he demonstrates his abilities.”

“What is ironic

is that, he meditates before the match to unleash his rage on the bowlers,” he jested.

Sooryavanshi went on the attack from the outset, racing to his fifty in just 16 deliveries and never easing up. His blistering knock propelled RR to 80 in the powerplay and past 100 as early as the eighth over. The teenager’s innings featured 12 towering sixes and 5 fours, leaving SRH’s bowlers shell-shocked.

Opening the innings, Sooryavanshi shared a 125-run partnership before falling three short of a century, dismissed by Praful Hinge. Shivang Kumar accounted for Jaiswal, who made a run-a-ball 29, bringing Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag together at the crease. The pair added 55 for the third wicket, with Jurel racing to a 20-ball half-century before Hinge struck again.

Parag contributed a brisk 26 off 12 before Hinge completed his three-wicket haul by removing the RR skipper. Eshan Malinga then dismissed his compatriot Dasun Shanaka for 5, and Donovan Ferreira was run out for 12. Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger fell cheaply, but Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten on 12 alongside Sushant Mishra as RR closed on 243/8.

Defending the total, Archer struck in his first over, removing Abhishek Sharma for a duck to give SRH a nightmare start. Travis Head and Ishan Kishan rebuilt with a 51-run stand, but Archer returned to dismiss Kishan for a blazing 33 off 11. Smaran Ravichandran managed only 1 before Burger removed him, and Archer claimed his third wicket by sending back Head for 17 off 8.

Yash Raj Punja then accounted for the dangerous Heinrich Klaasen, who made 18 off 10, leaving SRH struggling at 81/5 inside seven overs. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Salil Arora tried to revive the chase with a 51-run partnership, but Jadeja broke through by dismissing Reddy for 38 off 20.

Sushant Mishra further dented SRH by removing captain Pat Cummins for 1 off 2 deliveries, before Jadeja struck again to send back Arora for 35 off 21. Burger added the wicket of Malinga for 5 off 8, and Shivang Kumar’s fighting 27 ended when Mishra dismissed him, sealing SRH’s exit from the tournament.