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Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 27 blew away Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Eliminator clash with a 47-run win. After Vaibhav Sooryavanshi show, SRH suffered a similar fate to that of Gujarat Titans against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Qualifier 1. SRH lost half the side for 81 runs in the seventh over. They ended up getting bowled out for 196 in the run chase of 244. After RR’s win, Jofra Archer who claimed three wickets with the new ball, mentioned Punjab Kings (PBKS) while talking to the broadcasters. Archer was asked whether the thumping win has given them confidence going into the Qualifier 2 clash against GT. The English pacer talked about peaking at the right time and doesn’t want what happened to PBKS as they went from unbeaten in seven games to six consecutive defeats to get knocked out of playoffs race.
“Every game at a time. I think we are peak, well, I don't want to say peaking and we're going in the right direction at the right time. We don't want what happened to Kings XI [PBKS] to happen to us,” Archer told the broadcasters in Mullanpur.
“So I think we're on the right path. Everyone chipping in every game and that's the important part.”
ALSO READ: Abhishek Sharma adds another unwanted record to his name after duck in Eliminator vs RR
Archer wrecks SRH top-order
Archer struck with the new ball, getting opener Abhishek Sharma out for a two-ball duck. The short ball got the better of him. In his next over, he was hit for a four and two sixes by Ishan Kishan's catch. At deep square leg, he was dropped by Ravindra Jadeja and the ball went over the rope. But, Archer had the last laugh as he got the wicket of Kishan with a back of the length delivery. In his third over, he knocked over Travis Head with a delivery just over 150 kmph. He went for 42 runs in three overs but got rid of SRH’s menacing top order. He returned to bowl in the 17th over and was hit for three fours by Shivang Kumar. The Englishman returned with bowling figures of 58/3.
Archer in three-way race for purple cap
Archer is one of the top purple contenders. He has 24 wickets from 15 games at an average of 21.41. The top spot is jointly occupied by Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Gujarat Titans' (GT) Kagiso Rabada who have 26 wickets each from 15 outings.
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