India, May 30 -- It was a case of being so close yet so far. For the second game in a row, Rajasthan Royals opening batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi missed out on a century. After smashing 97 runs in the Eliminator against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 15-year-old backed this performance up with another 96 runs against the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 in Mullanpur. The stage was set for Sooryavanshi to smash his third Indian Premier League (IPL) century and second of the 2026 edition. However, it wasn't meant to be, as a short delivery once again led to his downfall.

Sooryavanshi, whose knock was studded with eight fours and seven maximums, was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada on the second delivery of the 18th over. His dismissal was all too simil...