Rajasthan Royals are set to face Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator match of IPL 2026 on Wednesday in Mullanpur. Riyan Parag and Co sealed their Playoffs berth with a convincing 30-run victory over Mumbai Indians in their final league-stage match. Batting first, RR posted 205/8 in 20 overs and later restricted MI to 175/9. With this result, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders were knocked out of the Playoffs race. Ahead of the Eliminator clash, the RR squad departed from Mumbai and arrived in Mullanpur.
At the airport, RR's young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shared a light-hearted moment with skipper Riyan Parag. At just 15, Sooryavanshi has taken the cricketing world by storm with his power-packed performances and has quickly become a favourite among the paparazzi, who are eager to capture the Bihar-based batter on camera.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, photographers were seen requesting Parag to pose with Sooryavanshi. However, the RR captain declined, saying, "We aren't film stars," before walking away. Reacting to his captain's remark, Sooryavanshi gave a puzzled look but continued posing for pictures.
Look at Vaibhav Suryavanshi's reaction when the paparazzis said to Riyan Parag, “Riyan, Vaibhav ke saath ek photo please,” and Riyan replied, “Hum koi film star nahi hain.” After hearing this, Vaibhav Suryavanshi's smile disappeared.
— Sonu (@Cricket_live247) May 26, 2026
Later, the paparazzis said to Vaibhav,… pic.twitter.com/sXsyhTGgCb
There is no denying that Sooryavanshi has enjoyed strong backing from Parag within the RR setup. Following the departure of former head coach Rahul Dravid, Parag has stood firmly in support of the teenager.
Meanwhile, the win over MI confirmed RR's place as the fourth and final team in the IPL 2026 Playoffs.
"Obviously it's good when things go to plan. I know we've won the game, we've qualified, but a lot of areas that we can do better. Wanted the set batter to play a little longer (the move to have Jofra at 7, Jaddu at 9). We needed runs. It's a wicket where you can't have two players batting in the middle and going at a run a ball. Wanted one guy to take the initiative, take the risk. And the other guy could stay a little bit longer. And Jadeja is as reliable as always. I knew back-end he would get us at least 20 off 10 which he did," said Parag after win against MI.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/fMuFYlV