Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are set to face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL Eliminator in New Chandigarh. The build-up to the match is dominated by discussion of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Cummins Acknowledges Sooryavanshi Threat
SRH captain Pat Cummins admitted his side will have multiple bowling plans ready for the teenage sensation ahead of the high-stakes clash. The 15-year-old opener has taken IPL 2026 by storm for Rajasthan Royals. He has redefined fearless batting at an incredibly young age.
Sooryavanshi has shattered several records during the league phase. He has emerged as one of the breakout stars of the season. In 14 innings, the youngster has scored 583 runs at a staggering strike rate of 232.27.
Cummins acknowledged the challenge while speaking to JioStar. He said that they would plan for him.
Hyderabad’s Plans for the Youngster
Cummins said, “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.”
Vaibhav has already faced SRH twice this season. In the first encounter, he was dismissed for a golden duck. However, in the return fixture, he responded in spectacular fashion with a breathtaking century against Hyderabad.
Cummins added, “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.”
Learnings From Previous Encounters
Pat Cummins also opened about whether beating Rajasthan Royals twice would hold any relevance. He stated that they do take learnings from previous games.
“You’re obviously starting from scratch again, but you do take learnings from previous games. 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,” Cummins concluded.
Although SRH won both league-stage meetings, Sooryavanshi’s current form makes him a major threat heading into the Eliminator.