Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins admitted that his side already has multiple bowling plans ready for teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ahead of the IPL 2026 Eliminator clash against Rajasthan Royals. Cummins said players like Vaibhav, who can completely take games away within a few overs, force bowling attacks into preparing backup plans beyond their usual strengths.
The two sides will now meet in the Eliminator in Mullanpur after SRH completed a league-stage double over Rajasthan Royals earlier this season. Speaking to JioStar ahead of the knockout clash, Cummins reflected on Vaibhav’s explosive century against SRH in Jaipur and how Hyderabad’s bowlers are now preparing specifically for the 15-year-old.
“It’s always a balance of, as a bowler, understanding what you do well and how you’re going to bowl to your strengths,” Cummins said.
“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.”
“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.”
Cummins also said SRH would take confidence from already beating Rajasthan twice this season before heading into the Eliminator.
“You’re obviously starting from scratch again, but you do take learnings from previous games,” Cummins said.
“We’ve played them twice. We’ve had a good look at a lot of their players. A lot of our guys can look back at those games where they’ve had success and lean on that heading into the finals.”
“So, it’s always nice coming up against a team that you’ve had some success against.”
SRH VS RR: A FAMILIAR BATTLE IN ELIMINATOR
Sunrisers Hyderabad will enter the knockout clash carrying a clear psychological advantage over Rajasthan Royals.
SRH have already beaten RR twice this season and are currently on a six-match winning streak against them dating back to 2022. The first clash in Hyderabad ended in a dominant 57-run SRH win, with Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain combining for eight wickets.
The reverse fixture in Jaipur looked headed differently only because of Vaibhav’s astonishing century, but even that eventually ended in another SRH victory.
That history now gives Cummins’ side tactical familiarity heading into the biggest meeting between the two teams this season.
The winner of Wednesday’s Eliminator will move on to face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2, while the loser’s IPL campaign will come to an immediate end.
CAN SRH BOWLERS HANDLE VAIBHAV SOORYAVANSHI?
That remains the biggest question heading into the Eliminator.
Vaibhav has already shown this season that reputation means very little to him. The teenager has attacked Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins with the same fearless intent, often taking games away inside the powerplay itself.
Vaibhav’s rise this season has been one of the biggest stories of IPL 2026. The Rajasthan Royals batter has smashed 583 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate above 232, turning himself into one of the most feared powerplay hitters in the tournament despite being only 15 years old.
Earlier this season in Jaipur, Vaibhav hammered a breathtaking 103 off just 37 balls against SRH, bringing up his century in only 36 deliveries – the second-fastest IPL hundred by an Indian behind Abhishek Sharma. During that innings, the youngster even took on Cummins fearlessly, scoring eight runs off the four balls he faced from the Australian quick, including a first-ball six.
SRH’s bowling plans will likely revolve around not allowing Vaibhav to dictate momentum early.
Cummins himself barely bowled at the youngster during that Jaipur century, sending down only four deliveries. This time, SRH are expected to directly target him much earlier with Cummins, Sakib Hussain and potentially Harshal Patel returning into the bowling mix.
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