Jofra Archer Produced a match-winning spell within the powerplay. Rajasthan Royals Knocked out Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026 Eliminator. Archer hit Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan early and often in his first three overs. These achievements completely broke the backbone of SRH’s 244-run chase in a high-pressure knockout clash. Reflecting on his performance, Archer was satisfied with the collective bowling effort rather than his figures alone. “Other than the stats, I thought I bowled very well. I think all the guys bowled well. We stuck to our plans, we stuck to our lengths, and we were rewarded tonight,” he said. His opening strike against Abhishek Sharma, coming off the second ball of the innings, set the tone for the Royals in a crucial powerplay phase. “Normally, the team with the most wickets in the powerplay usually wins the game. So it’s a lot of pressure, but I take it, and I do my best for the team,” added Archer. With the win, Rajasthan Royals are now just two wins away from a second IPL title. They will face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru already awaiting the final. Archer stressed the importance of staying focused and avoiding late-season collapses, pointing to past examples of teams losing momentum after strong starts. “Every game at a time. I think we’re at our peak, well, I don’t want to say peak, and we’re going in the right direction at the right time. We don’t want what happened to Kings XI.” [PBKS] to be with us. So I think we are on the right track. Everyone sticks to every game, and that’s the important part,” he said. RR’s total was fueled by a brilliant counter-attack from 15-year-old Vibhu Suryavanshi, who scored 97 off just 29 balls, including 12 sixes and five fours, to help them post 244 runs on the board. Archer was full of admiration for the young man’s explosive knock. “It was very interesting. The more runs he (Suryavanshi) scores, the more runs we have to defend. So he can go on to reach 150, so it’s good for the boys when he scores a lot,” he said. Rajasthan Royals will now meet Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 on Friday at the new Maharaja Yadavendra International Stadium in Chandigarh.
