Jaipur’s cricket faithful witnessed high drama as Sunrisers Hyderabad edged out Rajasthan Royals by five wickets in IPL 2026’s 36th match. RR skipper Riyan Parag was forthright in his assessment, declaring dropped catches as the game-changer in this chase thriller.
Batting first, RR unleashed 228/6, with teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi stealing the show via a blistering 103-run knock off 37 deliveries, complemented by Dhruv Jurel’s 51. SRH, however, responded with flair: Ishan Kishan’s 74 off 31 set the tone, Abhishek Sharma’s 57 off 29 provided momentum, Heinrich Klaasen’s 29 off 24 steadied, and Nitish Reddy’s explosive 36 off 18 sealed victory in 18.3 overs.
‘Our skills were on point, but those dropped catches, especially Abhishek’s, proved costly,’ Parag stated. ‘It’s part of the game, but we must sharpen our fielding to be ruthless. Their death bowling with yorkers restricted us; we wanted extra runs. Against lefties without spin help, I opted for pace, but execution faltered. We’ll return stronger next game.’
SRH’s fifth triumph underscores their chasing prowess, piling pressure on RR after their third setback.
