IPL 2026: RR keep playoff hopes alive with LSG scalp
What's the story
Rajasthan Royals chased down 221 against Lucknow Super Giants to keep themselves alive in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoff race. The Royals (225/3) were powered by a record-breaking 93 from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who toiled with the bowlers. Earlier in the game, LSG posted a brilliant total of 220/5 thanks to a 96-run knock from Mitchell Marsh. Here are the key stats.
LSG innings
Marsh powers the Super Giants
LSG were off to a fine start as Marsh shared a 109-run opening stand with fellow Australian Josh Inglis. The duo attacked from the outset and found boundaries for fun in the powerplay overs. Marsh later powered the LSG innings with 40-plus stands with Nicholas Pooran (16) and skipper Rishabh Pant (35). However, some fine death-bowling from RR restricted the damage toward the end.
Chase
The Sooryavanshi show tormented LSG
Chasing 221 for victory, RR were off to the perfect start with stand-in skipper Yashasvi Jaiswal (43) adding 75 runs with Sooryavanshi. The latter found another potent partner in Dhruv Jurel, as the two added 105 runs for the second wicket. Sooryavanshi was the aggressor as Jurel played second fiddle. Jurel (53*) and Donovan Ferreira (16) then saw off the chase in 19.1 overs.
Inglis
Third IPL fifty for Inglis
Inglis hit seven fours and three sixes en route to his quickfire 60 off just 29 balls. As per ESPNcricinfo, this was Inglis's third IPL fifty, which took him to 472 runs from 15 matches at 36.30 (SR: 174.81). The batter now has two fifties across four innings this season. His tally reads 194 runs at a tremendous strike rate of 195.95.
Marsh
Marsh clocks his third 90-plus score of IPL 2026
Marsh scored a brilliant 96 off 57 balls, having slammed 11 fours and five sixes. This was his third 90-plus score of IPL 2026. Having raced to 563 runs from 13 games at 43.31, Marsh was briefly the leading run-getter of the season before Sooryavanshi went past him. The Australian has recorded three fifties and a hundred in IPL 2026.
Marsh
Marsh goes past 6,500 T20 runs
With his 30th run, Marsh went past 6,500 runs in T20 cricket. He has completed 6,566 runs at a fine average of 34.02. He has now tallied 40 fifties in addition to five centuries. Coming to his overall IPL stats, Marsh now owns 1,855 runs at 30.91. He has crossed the 50-run mark 14 times in the league (100s: 2).
Jaiswal
Jaiswal completes 2,500 runs in IPL
Stand-in RR skipper Jaiswal scored a stunning 43 off 23 balls, having hammered eight fours and a six. As per ESPNcricinfo, he went past 2,500 (now 2,536) IPL runs. The southpaw averages 34.27 in the competition. He has scored two centuries and 18 half-centuries in the IPL, with an impressive strike rate of 153.79.
Sooryavanshi
Sooryavanshi tumbles records with fiery 93
Sooryavanshi hit 10 sixes and seven fours in his blazing knock of 93 from just 38 balls. This knock took his IPL 2026 tally to 579 runs at 44.54. He is now the Orange Cap holder. Sooryavanshi also owns the best strike rate for any batter this season (236.33). Overall, he owns 831 IPL runs at 41.55 (50s: 4, 100s: 2).
Elite list
Sooryavanshi joins this list
During his stay, Sooryavanshi became the first Indian to hammer 50 sixes in an IPL season (now 53). West Indies legends Chris Gayle (59 in 2012 & 51 in 2013) and Andre Russell (52 in 2019) are the other two players to have achieved the feat. Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi now has four 50-plus scores in IPL 2026 (100: 1).
Jurel
Jurel hammers his fifth fifty in IPL 2026
Jurel returned unbeaten on 53 runs off 38 balls, having hit three fours and as many sixes. This season, he is the second-highest scorer for the Royals with four fifties and a total of 420 runs at 38.18. In his overall IPL career, Dhruv Jurel has raced to 1,100 runs at 31.42. He has a strike rate of 152.35 in the tournament (50s: 9).
Feats
RR register these feats
As per Cricbuzz, RR became the first team to successfully chase down four 220-plus targets in IPL history. This was overall their seventh successful chase of 200-plus runs. This is the first win for RR at Jaipur after five successive losses and only 2nd win out of 9 games at this venue since 2025.
Points table
RR enter top four
With this win, RR have climbed to the fourth spot with seven wins from 13 games (NRR: +0.083). A win in their final league match would guarantee them a playoff ticket. Meanwhile, LSG were already eliminated from the top-four race. They have now slipped further down to the last spot (10th) with just four wins from 13 matches (NRR: -0.702).-