Rajasthan Royals took a big step toward making the IPL 2026 Playoffs after beating the Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets in Jaipur on Tuesday. LSG put up a strong total, hammering 220/5 thanks to a brilliant 96 from Mitchell Marsh and a blazing half-century from Josh Inglis. But then came Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, blasting 93 off just 38 balls. Dhruv Jurel chipped in with his sixth fifty of the season, and RR chased down the huge target with five balls left. This win pushed them up to fourth place with 14 points from 13 matches, making life harder for Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Chennai Super Kings, who all now have less room for error.
So, what does RR need to qualify for the IPL 2026 Playoffs?
Scenario 1: If RR wins their final match against Mumbai Indians, they’ll reach 16 points from 14 matches—nobody else can get that many, so they’re in for sure.
Scenario 2: If they lose to Mumbai Indians, they stay stuck at 14 points. Then things get tricky. They’ll need KKR to drop one of their last games, and both CSK and PBKS to lose as well. If KKR win their last two, or PBKS win their remaining match, RR are out. But there’s a twist: If PBKS and KKR both lose and CSK win, RR and CSK will both end on 14 points. In that case, Net Run Rate (NRR) will break the tie.
RR’s stand-in skipper Yashasvi Jaiswal was pretty pumped after the game. “I think everyone put in the hard yards and they played really well, everyone was in it and working for it. Jofra and Brijesh bowled really well, especially since we knew the wicket was good for batting and runs would flow. The way Jofra came back during the powerplay was just unreal. Vaibhav and Dhruv with the bat, they just killed the game—honestly, amazing. I’m really happy for the team, we needed this. And I’m grateful for the support staff too, they’ve put in a lot of work behind the scenes. Just unbelievable. Very grateful,” he said.
