Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins backed his side despite suffering a crushing 47-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL 2026 Eliminator at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.
The defeat officially brought SRH’s IPL 2026 campaign to an end after Rajasthan Royals completely outplayed them in both departments during the knockout clash.
SRH bowlers were taken apart by RR’s batting lineup before their own batting order collapsed under pressure during the mammoth chase.
Despite the disappointing result, Cummins praised his team’s overall effort throughout the tournament and remained proud of the young squad’s performance.
Pat Cummins backs SRH players despite heartbreaking playoff exit
Speaking after the match, Pat Cummins admitted Rajasthan Royals youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi completely changed the game with his brutal innings.
"[On Vaibhav Sooryavanshi] He played pretty well. A very good pitch but the margins are so small, you miss our yorker but he doesn't miss," Cummins said.
The SRH captain also highlighted the emergence of young bowlers in the squad and praised the coaching staff for identifying future stars.
"Pretty good wicket. We are a very well-rounded team. [On the newer bowlers in the team] Praful and Sakib were great. We are one of the youngest team to get into the playoffs, and the coaching team have unearthed a few gems," he added.
Reflecting on the massive chase, Cummins admitted SRH lost wickets at crucial moments which eventually pushed them out of the contest.
"[On the chase] A few things have to go right to chase 245 but we lost a couple of wickets at the wrong time. One tiny bit away from being in the top two, but can't doubt the boys' efforts," he said.
RR dominate SRH to storm into Qualifier 2
Rajasthan Royals produced an explosive batting display in the first innings and posted a gigantic total of 243 runs. Teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi led the carnage with a blistering 97-run knock, while Dhruv Jurel (50 off 21) and captain Riyan Parag (26 off 12) also played quickfire innings.
While chasing the huge target, Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a disastrous start and never really recovered. SRH opener Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a duck, while Travis Head scored 17 off 8 balls and Ishan Kishan managed 33 off 11 deliveries before departing.
Smaran Ravichandran scored just 1 off 4 balls while Heinrich Klaasen made 18 off 10 balls as SRH kept losing wickets regularly. Nitish Kumar Reddy tried to revive the innings with 38 off 20 balls, while Salil Arora added 35 off 21 deliveries, but both batters eventually fell trying to accelerate.
SRH were eventually bowled out for 196 in the 20th over. For RR, Jofra Archer delivered the crucial early breakthroughs by dismissing Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Ishan Kishan, although he conceded 58 runs.
Nandre Burger, Sushant Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja picked up wickets each, while Yash Raj Punja also chipped in with a wicket. With the victory, RR advanced to Qualifier 2 where they will now face GT for a place in the IPL 2026 final on Friday, May 29, 2026.