IPL 2026: Rajasthan Royals will clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad during the IPL 2026 Eliminator in Mullanpur. The Rajasthan-based franchise stormed into the playoffs after conquering the Mumbai Indians by 30 runs in their last group-stage match. Batting first, they unleashed a mammoth target of 205 runs and then demolished the hosts for a mere 175 runs. As a result, the Punjab Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders crashed out of the playoff race. Before the upcoming match, they departed Mumbai and landed in Mullanpur.
Rajasthan Royals' star opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi bantered playfully with captain Riyan Parag at the airport. The teen sensation electrified the cricketing world with brilliant match-winning performances and captivated the paparazzi, who hustled to snap pictures of him.
A video surfaced on social media in which Parag was pressed to pose with Sooryavanshi. But Parag rebuffed the request, asserting, "We aren't film stars," and strode away. Sooryavanshi recoiled at his statement but paused and allowed photographers to take pictures.
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Watch the video here:
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
Parag has championed Sooryavanshi in the RR team. After ex-coach Rahul Dravid stepped down, RR skipper consistently defended and elevated the youngster.
At the same time, after overpowering the Hardik Pandya-led side, RR emerged as the fourth team to claim a playoff spot.
"Obviously, it's good when things go to plan. I know we've won the game and qualified, but there are many areas where we can improve. 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," Riyan Parag told broadcasters during the post-match presentation.