Gujarat Titans’ traditional-minded top-order needs to fire against Rajasthan Royals, and their powerful pace attack must halt the teenage tornado Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026 in Mullanpur on Friday.
Mohammed Siraj dismissed Sooryavanshi with the short ball in the last match between the two teams after being smacked for a six.
Sooryavanshi’s brilliant shot-making also caught Kagiso Rabada off guard. Siraj and Rabada have both given Titans early successes in this competition, but the 15-year-old has set the standard with an incredible 97 off 29 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator.
As he punished Pat Cummins, Sooryavanshi would be seeking to blast every ball out of the park on what is supposed to be another belter of a surface in Mullanpur. The batting wonder has been dismissed off a short ball several times, so the GT bowlers may want to carefully target that area.
Sooryavanshi and Jofra Archer are crucial to the Royals’ current success. They successfully defeated the Sunrisers in the Eliminator thanks to both of the X-factor players. Sooryavanshi’s incredible ball striking at the top of the order has completely eclipsed Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Dhuv Jurel has performed admirably at number three, although Sooryavanshi’s early advantage has helped him. The Royals should have scored 260 on Wednesday, according to skipper Riyan Parag, but they mysteriously collapsed in the last overs. They would undoubtedly want to get better at finishing.
However, after being humiliated by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the Titans have another chance to make it to the IPL final. Jos Buttler, Sai Sudharsan, and Shubman Gill are the Titans’ top three. RR truly lacks the batting depth to turn things around if they don’t click.
Gill and Sudharsan, who are very reliable but can’t go hammer and tongs from ball one, would be under more pressure if they wind up giving up a total of more than 250, as they did against RCB. Their greatest asset has been their bowling, but in the final overs of the match at Dharamsala, RCB captain Rajat Patidar severely undermined Gill and company.
The fielding department would also require significant work for the Titans. Rahul Tewatia’s runs in the previous game were one of the few positives they would bring into Qualifier 2, but the middle-order and lower-order do not inspire much confidence.
Titans will be the favorites to advance to Sunday’s final if the bowlers can repeat what they have been doing for most of this tournament, demonstrating their consistency excluding a poor day in the office in Qualifier 1.
GT vs RR Head-to-Head:
The Gujarat Titans’ better head-to-head record against the Royals will serve as motivation. The Titans have won seven of the ten games that have been played between the two teams, while the Royals have won three. In their last four meetings, both this season and in IPL 2025, the two teams have each won two games.
GT vs RR Pitch Report:
This season, the Mullanpur stadium’s surface has proven to be a batter’s dream, with scores well over 200 in the last four games. Teams chasing have won three of the five games played at the venue this season. However, the Royals’ potent batting, spearheaded by Sooryavanshi, would make Titans reconsider their decision to bat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1.
GT vs RR Weather Report:
With temperatures in the mid-30s and little chance of rain, Friday is expected to be another ideal evening for cricket with another run fest in store.
GT vs RR Probable XIs:
Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (Captain), Jos Buttler (w/k), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (w/k), Riyan Parag (Captain), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja
FAQs:
When is the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals scheduled?
The IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals is scheduled for Friday, May 29, 2026.
What time does the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals scheduled to start?
The IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals will start at 7:30 PM IST.
Where is the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals scheduled to take place?
The IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals is scheduled to be played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
Which TV channel will broadcast the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals?
The IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals will be broadcast on Star Sports Network.
Where can one catch the live streaming of the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals?
The live streaming of the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals will be available on JioHotstar.
