Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans (219/3 in 18.4 ovs) beat Rajasthan Royals (214/7) by 7 wickets in Qualifier 2 to reach the IPL final. Gill (104)
And just like that, the Vaibhav Sooryavanshi show is over for IPL 2026. Gujarat Titans brought the curtain down on the 15-year-old’s atrociously, beyond-believable, utterly entertaining party, knocking out Rajasthan Royals and storming into the final.
GT vs RR, Qualifier 2: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
A breathtaking 96 from Sooryavanshi, breathtaking not in the way his blazing strokeplay usually is, but in the painful, laborious, grind-every-run way – forged against stern plans and a superb fast-bowling show from Gujarat Titans, ultimately wasn’t enough in Mullanpur on Friday, May 29.
Shubman Gill had other ideas, producing his first IPL century in two years at the most perfect moment possible. Gujarat Titans chased down 215 – a 200-plus target for the first time this season – with seven wickets and eight balls to spare, Gill and Sai Sudharsan putting on a stunning 167-run opening stand that made the whole thing look like a Sunday stroll.
Both captains had said they would have batted first, and the pitch was widely expected to assist the side setting the total. It didn’t quite work out that way – or perhaps more accurately, Gill and Sudharsan simply refused to let it.
They will now face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final – their third in five seasons – a rematch of Qualifier 1, where Gill’s men were steamrolled by the defending champions. But they head home to Ahmedabad brimming with confidence, and Sunday’s final at Narendra Modi Stadium promises to be an enticing battle. But that is for another day.
For now, back to New Chandigarh.
Not many had turned up to the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium wearing Shubman Gill shirts, not even in the Test captain’s own backyard. Nearly half the crowd, kids included, had made the journey for one reason alone: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Both the captain and the schoolboy gave them plenty to cheer about, but it was Punjab da puttar who walked away with the bragging rights when it mattered most. And this is precisely why teams scrap and grind to finish in the top two.
It buys you something invaluable: a second chance, a clean slate, a path to the final even when you arrive bruised. Gujarat Titans were exactly that after Royal Challengers Bengaluru steamrolled them in Dharamsala on Tuesday – bruised, battered, and written off by many. Yet they walked out looking like a side with selective amnesia, unburdened by the memory of that defeat.
Their bowling attack rose to the occasion, reining Rajasthan Royals in to 214 despite one of the most mature and magnificent knocks Sooryavanshi has produced in the IPL.
And with the bat, they were clinical and determined from the first ball. This was exactly the kind of win Gujarat Titans needed – a validation of their process, their belief in a style more orthodox than most in this T20 tournament on steroids.
Even on the eve of the game, assistant coach Parthiv Patel bristled when asked if Gujarat were one-dimensional, predictable in their batting and bowling plans. “Everybody has a different way of playing. We have our own style. Even in the first half of the tournament, when we were not doing that great and were just doing okay, we still stuck to our process. We trust our ability and know what we can do,” he said.
And that process was no secret. Gujarat Titans were a top-heavy batting side – they needed Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler to go big. They relied heavily on their in-form new-ball duo of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada to defend or set totals. Nine of their 14 league wins were built on exactly that script. No surprises, no tricks up the sleeve – just backing their best players to deliver, and more often than not, they did.
Then came Qualifier 1, and the wheels came off spectacularly. None of the top three fired. Siraj and Rabada were taken to the cleaners. The momentum didn’t just slow – it collapsed. So did they, tumbling from Dharamsala to New Chandigarh to face a Rajasthan Royals side riding high after thrashing SunRisers Hyderabad.
Yet Gujarat walked out looking like a team that had deleted the memory of Tuesday entirely. Never before this season had they even come close to chasing 200-plus. Yet under the heaviest pressure of their campaign, their ever-reliant openers did what they do best.
Sixteen runs off the very first over – bowled by Jofra Archer – announced their intent loud and clear. They didn’t relent after that either. Sudharsan was dropped on 14, the solitary chance the pair offered in the first ten overs. There was no bludgeoning, no reckless swing – the first six of Gujarat’s innings didn’t arrive until the ninth over. But by then, they had already crossed a hundred.
That foundation set them up for a relatively smooth second half, even as Sudharsan fell to another freakish hit wicket. Gill carried on regardless, finishing with 104 off 53 balls to power the Titans into the final.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– Ends
Source link
[ad_3]
