Rajasthan Royals Vaibhav Suryavanshi (AP Photo)
Rajasthan Royals’ batting coach Vikram Rathore admitted that Mitchell Starc’s crucial win had completely shifted the momentum in Delhi Capitals’ favour, as RR suffered another setback in a tight IPL 2026 qualifying race. The Royals were in a commanding position at 162/2 and looked set to take a total in the 220-230 range before collapsing to 193/8, ultimately falling short of Delhi Capitals chasing the target comfortably to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The biggest turning point came when Stark broke through the middle and death and eliminated it
Ryan Baraj
And Donovan Ferreira and Ravi Singh in one devastating phase that brought RR’s momentum to a complete halt. However, much of RR’s innings once again revolved around their teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who continued to impress with another gutsy knock at the top. The youngster hit 46 off 21 balls, hitting five fours and three sixes, and once again gave Rajasthan a brilliant start alongside Dhruv Gurel. Speaking after the match, Vikram Rathore admitted that the team did not live up to expectations. “We were 20 short distances away.
We were 160/2 and should have reached 220-230. Losing three wickets in one doesn’t help. We could have been smarter in our choices at the time. We can make mistakes in every game, the idea is to learn from them and hope they make different choices in the next game. That (from Stark) changed the game for us.
“ He also confirmed that there was concern about the team’s fitness, adding: “It would be good if he was given a rest period for another match,” referring to…
Ravindra Jadeja
Knee slip. In terms of tactical decisions during the chase, Rathour supported captain Ryan Parag’s call to hand over the 18th over to Donovan Ferreira, although it proved costly with Delhi taking advantage. “The captain is the one who takes the decisions. He backs his gut feeling. Our choice was to bring in six bowlers. But when we lost wickets quickly, we picked Dasun Shanaka as an impact player. Otherwise, we could have picked a bowler as an impact player.”
He explained: “There are some plans that were discussed with the analyst and the coach, but on the field, the captain is the one who receives the ball.” He also explained that Parag did not bowl due to a hamstring issue, which limits RR’s options at a crucial stage. Despite the loss, Rathore remained confident of Vaibhav sooryavanshi’s meteoric rise, dismissing concerns about his ability to cope with slow deliveries. “No one is perfect in this world,” he said, adding: “Everyone is going to have some weakness.
I don’t think Vaibhav has a weakness against slow balls. On such a wicket where the ball is in possession, a change of pace is good against any batsman, not just Vaibhav. He also praised the young man’s influence at the top, describing him as a special talent. “Enough has been said about his ability, and he has given us a great start. I hope he converts one of these innings and goes deep. The way he bats is not too far off.” So far in IPL 2026, Vaibhav sooryavanshi has scored 486 runs in 12 innings at an average of 40.50 and a strike rate of 234.78, including a century and two fifties, making him RR’s highest run-scorer this season. In the match itself, his early fireworks helped RR build momentum as he and Jurel added a 70-run stand, while Parag’s 51 off 26 balls added further steam. But starting at 162/2, the innings collapsed dramatically as Starc (4/39), Lungi Ngidi (2/24) and Madhav Tiwari (2/27) caused the collapse. In reply, Delhi Capitals were led by half-centuries from Abhishek Porel (51) and
Kuala Lumpur Rahul
(56), before Axar Patel (34*) and Ashutosh Sharma (18*) easily ended the chase, sealing a five-wicket win with four balls remaining.