🏏IPL 2026: RR vs GT, Qualifier 2, at New Chandigarh on 29/05/2026🏏

🏏IPL 2026: RR vs GT, Qualifier 2, at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh on 29/05/2026 at 7:30PM IST🏏

The big match before the finals.

RR ride on teen steam against steady GT with final in sight. GT are coming off a big defeat in Qualifier 1 but will fancy their chances against RR in hopes of making it to a home final. Two similar teams yet poles apart

On Friday night, when New Chandigarh lights up to host Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026, two teams with a lot of similarities yet poles apart in their philosophy will come face to face for the ticket to the final.

Gujarat Titans (GT), who are coming off a defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Qualifier 1, and Rajasthan Royals (RR), who beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator, have plenty in common. Both rely heavily on their top three, both have a weak middle order, and both have incisive new-ball pairs. But their approach to the game could not have been more different.

Even in the age of the Impact Player, GT's openers, Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan, prefer a low-risk approach to collect their runs. Their scoring rate in the powerplay this season has been 9.66, which puts them in the bottom half. They are happy with just-above-par totals and back their bowling unit to defend those.

RR, meanwhile, are led by the 15-year-old phenom Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who tries to send every ball over the boundary. Gill and Sai Sudharsan combined have hit 59 sixes this season; Sooryavanshi alone has smashed 65. Even with Yashasvi Jaiswal not at his best, RR's run rate of 11.66 in the first six overs has been the best in the tournament.

GT are really vulnerable when a team posts a well-above-par total batting first. RCB did that in Qualifier 1 with 254 for 5, after which GT had little chance. Another team capable of doing that is RR - they did it against SRH in the Eliminator with 243 for 8. While GT's bowling attack is much stronger than SRH's, if Sooryavanshi gets going, it will not be easy to stop him and RR.

That brings us to the toss. The chasing teams have a 43-27 win-loss record this season (excluding a tie and a washout). However, both playoff games so far have been won by the team batting first. In fact, when it comes to the knockouts, it has been pretty even-stevens across the IPL's 19 seasons: 36-35 in favour of the team batting first.

Therefore, if the coin lands in RR's favour on Friday, they might consider batting first and batting GT out of the game. Moreover, the match will be played on the same pitch where the Eliminator was held. So chasing might not be easy on a worn-out surface with little dew expected.

Team Watch:

Rajasthan Royals

Injuries/Availability: Both Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja, under an injury cloud, played the Eliminator. Parag, though, could only jog around while batting, but was on the field throughout. RR didn't go ahead with their optional net session, but expect both to turn up for the game.

Tactics and matchups

Jofra Archer has been a true spearhead for RR: watch out for his battle against Shubman Gill. Archer has dismissed Gill thrice in seven T20 innings; an average of 7.20 and a strike-rate of 120 makes for a lopsided head-to-head. On Thursday, Gill had his usually long (and fluent) stint in the nets but was tested by Gurnoor Brar's pace a couple of times. On one instance, Brar's extra lift induced a top edge off Gill's bat, something Archer would be looking to do with his own deceptive bounce.

Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma, Sushant Mishra/Tushar Deshpande/Ravi Bishnoi

Gujarat Titans

Injuries/Availability: No known injuries in the GT camp.

Tactics and matchups

How do you stop Sooryavanshi? No one seems to have a clear answer. Notably, it was against the same opposition, that Sooryavanshi announced himself with a century last year. This year, he has a couple of 30s against them.

In one of those games, he got into a mini-battle with Siraj. Hit for a first-ball six, the seamer took revenge with a sharp bumper. Both him and Rabada, excellent in the Powerplay this year, will be coming at the kid.

Separately, Jaiswal's poor returns against spin are glaring (striking at 111.11 this season). He's also been dismissed by Rabada thrice in six innings.

Probable XII: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan/Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh Pitch Report

This has been a great venue for the batters. In five matches played in New Chandigarh this season, the average first-innings score has been 220. Even a 223-run target has been easily chased down on this ground. However, in a high-pressure knockout game, winning the toss and opting to bat first could be the better ploy as chasing a huge total will be very difficult.

Pitch and conditions

New Chandigarh has been a high-scoring venue, with targets of 220 and 223 being chased easily earlier in the season. But a worn-out pitch could change the scene. There is a chance of rain, even a hailstorm, around 1pm but it shouldn't affect the game. Thursday was overcast and saw the pitch covered in the evening because of heavy breeze.

Originally posted by: Savera84

Team Watch:

Rajasthan Royals

Injuries/Availability: Both Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja, under an injury cloud, played the Eliminator. Parag, though, could only jog around while batting, but was on the field throughout. RR didn't go ahead with their optional net session, but expect both to turn up for the game.

Tactics and matchups

Jofra Archer has been a true spearhead for RR: watch out for his battle against Shubman Gill. Archer has dismissed Gill thrice in seven T20 innings; an average of 7.20 and a strike-rate of 120 makes for a lopsided head-to-head. On Thursday, Gill had his usually long (and fluent) stint in the nets but was tested by Gurnoor Brar's pace a couple of times. On one instance, Brar's extra lift induced a top edge off Gill's bat, something Archer would be looking to do with his own deceptive bounce.

Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma, Sushant Mishra/Tushar Deshpande/Ravi Bishnoi

Gujarat Titans

Injuries/Availability: No known injuries in the GT camp.

Tactics and matchups

How do you stop Sooryavanshi? No one seems to have a clear answer. Notably, it was against the same opposition, that Sooryavanshi announced himself with a century last year. This year, he has a couple of 30s against them.

In one of those games, he got into a mini-battle with Siraj. Hit for a first-ball six, the seamer took revenge with a sharp bumper. Both him and Rabada, excellent in the Powerplay this year, will be coming at the kid.

Separately, Jaiswal's poor returns against spin are glaring (striking at 111.11 this season). He's also been dismissed by Rabada thrice in six innings.

Probable XII: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan/Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

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GT vs RR Head to Head T20 Record

Matches Played 10

Won by Gujarat Titans 7

Won by Rajasthan Royals 3

Tied 00

No Result 00

First-ever Fixture April 14, 2022 (GT Won)

Most Recent Fixture May 9, 2026 (GT Won)

Originally posted by: Spideyweb

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GT vs RR Probable Best Performers of the Match

Probable Best Batter: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would be oozing with confidence after amassing 97 runs off 29 balls in the Eliminator against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He hit 12 sixes during his epic knock. Sooryavanshi will know what to expect from the venue as the last game was also played here. If he gets a start, he could decimate the famed GT bowling lineup.

Originally posted by: Spideyweb

Madam moonks saw ur msg on some ancient thread

Sorry maine if khola hi nhi kaafi din ☹️☹️
u refrained from using my cognomen this time 😅

Kya in dhaago pe get together hoti hai
How r u kusum n other earthlings🍀🌍🌍

Probable Best Bowler: Kagiso Rabada

It's a very difficult choice between Kagiso Rabada and Jofra Archer. Both bowlers have bowled their hearts out during the tournament. The South African seamer's battle with Sooryavanshi would be a defining contest on Friday. Rabada has taken 26 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 9.49 so far.