Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans (219/3 in 18.4 overs) defeated Rajasthan Royals (214/7) by 7 wickets in Qualifier 2 to reach the IPL final. Gill (104)

And just like that, the Vaibhav Suryavanshi show is over for IPL 2026. Gujarat Titans put an end to 15 years of this brutal, incredible, thoroughly entertaining party, defeating Rajasthan Royals and storming into the final.

GT vs RR, Qualifier 2: highlighted | Achievement:

A breathtaking 96 from Suryavanshi, breathtaking not in the way his explosive strokeplay usually is, but in the painful, laborious, tough-every-run way – built against tight plans and a brilliant fast bowling display from the Gujarat Titans, was ultimately not enough in Mullanpur on Friday, May 29.

Scoring his maiden IPL century, Shubman Gill had other ideas Probably the best moment in two years. Gujarat Titans chased 215 – a target of over 200 for the first time this season – with seven wickets and eight balls to spare, with Gill and Sai Sudarshan making a brilliant 167-run opening stand that made it all look like a Sunday outing.

Both captains had said that they would have batted first and hoped that the pitch would help the team score the total. It didn’t work out that way – or perhaps more accurately, Gill and Sudarshan refused to do it.

They will now face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final – their third in five seasons – a rematch of Qualifier 1, where Gill’s team was defeated by the defending champions. But they head to Ahmedabad brimming with confidence, and the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday promises to be an exciting battle. But that’s for another day.

For now, back to New Chandigarh.

Not many people came to the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium wearing a Shubman Gill shirt, not even in the Test captain’s own backyard. Nearly half the crowd, including children, had traveled alone for one reason: Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

Both the Captain and the Schoolboys gave them a lot to be happy about, but it was Punjab Da Puttar who walked away with the bragging rights when it mattered most. And that’s why teams keep struggling to make the top two.

It buys you something priceless: a second chance, a clean slate, a path to the finals even if injured. After Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Gujarat Titans in Dharamshala on Tuesday, Gujarat Titans were in exactly the same position – bruised, battered, and criticized by many. Yet they walked away free of the memory of that defeat, like a side suffering from selective amnesia.

Their bowling attack rose to the occasion and restricted Rajasthan Royals to 214 runs despite one of the most mature and brilliant innings from Suryavanshi in the IPL.
And with the bat, he was clinical and determined from the first ball. It was exactly the kind of win Gujarat Titans needed – validation of their process, their belief in a more conservative style than most in this T20 tournament on steroids.

Even on the eve of the game, when assistant coach Parthiv Patel was asked whether Gujarat were one-dimensional, predictable in their batting and bowling plans, he bristled. “Everyone has a different way of playing. We have our own style. Even in the first part of the tournament, when we were not doing that well and were doing okay, we still stuck to our process. We are confident in our ability and we know what we can do,” he said.

And that process was no secret. Gujarat Titans were a top-heavy batting team – they needed Gill, Sai Sudarshan and Jos Buttler to play big innings. They relied heavily on their in-form new ball pair of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada to defend or set up scores. Nine of their 14 league wins were built on exactly the same script. No surprises, no trickery – just backing your best players to perform well, and often, they did.

Then came Qualifier 1, and the wheels came off brilliantly. None of the top three shot. Siraj and Rabada were taken to the cleaners. The pace not only slowed down – it collapsed. After defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad, they did the same as they traveled from Dharamshala to New Chandigarh to face Rajasthan Royals.

Yet Gujarat came out looking like a team that has completely erased the memories of Tuesday. Before this season they had never even come close to chasing 200-plus. Yet under the immense pressure of their campaign, their always reliable opening batsmen did what they do best.

Sixteen runs were scored in the first over bowled by Jofra Archer – declaring their intentions loud and clear. Even after this he did not step back. Sudarshan was dismissed for 14, the only chance the pair had in the first ten overs. There was no ruckus, no careless swing – the first six of Gujarat’s innings did not come until the ninth over. But by then he had crossed 100.

That foundation set them up for a relatively comfortable second half, even if Sudarshan fell to another odd hit wicket. Gill, regardless of this, scored 104 runs in 53 balls to take the Titans to the final.

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