Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins said his team has learned important lessons from their previous clash against Rajasthan Royals youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ahead of the IPL 2026 Eliminator. The two teams will face each other at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Wednesday, May 27.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have already defeated Rajasthan Royals twice this season. However, Sooryavanshi made headlines during the second meeting between the teams in Jaipur. After getting dismissed for a golden duck in Hyderabad, the 15-year-old bounced back strongly and smashed a stunning 103 runs off just 37 balls.
Cummins Expects Big Challenge from Sooryavanshi
Speaking before the Eliminator, Cummins admitted that SRH bowlers are preparing special plans to stop the young batter. He praised Sooryavanshi’s ability to change the game quickly with his aggressive batting style.
“It’s always a balance of, as a bowler, understanding what you do well and how you’re going to bowl to your strengths. But when there are probably one or two players in every lineup who can take the game away from the opposition, you do spend a little bit longer working on a Plan B or Plan C,” Cummins said while speaking to JioHotstar ahead of the crucial tie.
“So, yeah, we’ll plan for him. Even though he got a hundred against us last time, I thought there were times when we actually bowled quite well to him and kept him quiet. At other times, he got away from us. So, we’ll learn from that,” he added.
Sooryavanshi has enjoyed a brilliant IPL 2026 season so far. He has scored 583 runs in 14 matches at an impressive strike rate of 232.28. The teenager has hit one century and three half-centuries this season. He has also smashed 53 sixes and 50 fours. His battle against SRH bowlers, especially Cummins and Eshan Malinga, could decide the result of the Eliminator.
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