New Chandigarh, May 28 (IANS) Gujarat Titans know they must be at their absolute best to stop a Rajasthan Royals side playing some of the most explosive cricket of the season, when the two sides meet in a do-or-die Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Friday.

The stakes could not be higher. A win will help the Gujarat Titans book their place in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where they will again take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday. But a loss would mean that a campaign that promised much would come to an abrupt end.

GT arrive in New Chandigarh with something to prove — their Qualifier 1 game against RCB in Dharamshala ended in a heavy 92-run defeat, their worst performance of the season at the worst possible time. Rahul Tewatia’s gutsy fifty offered a rare positive in an otherwise lopsided contest, where their menacing new-ball pair of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj could not contain a rampant RCB batting lineup.

GT will need their opening pair of captain Shubman Gill and B. Sai Sudharsan, and number three Jos Buttler to fire on Friday, and hope for their bowling line-up to stop a rampaging Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from making big runs. RR, meanwhile, have won three on the trot and arrive in Qualifier 2 brimming with confidence after saying goodbye to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The catalyst has been 15-year-old Sooryavanshi, who is fast becoming the tournament’s defining story. His 97 off just 29 balls against SRH in the Eliminator was breathtaking and astonishing in equal measure. He now wears the Orange Cap with 680 runs at a staggering strike rate of 243 and also broke Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes in a single IPL season by taking his tally to 65 maximums.

The pairing of Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal has combined for 747 runs at a strike rate of 206 – making them the most productive partnership of IPL 2026, ahead of Gill-Sudharsan. Dhruv Jurel has enjoyed a career-best season with 508 runs at a strike rate of 155, while skipper Riyan Parag has provided calm leadership throughout.

With the ball, Jofra Archer has been RR’s most potent weapon – 24 wickets at a strike rate of 14, including 14 in the powerplay. The England pacer’s battle against the GT top order will also be one of the most anticipated duels of the evening. Ravindra Jadeja adds match-winning balance with both bat and ball and brings invaluable playoffs experience to the RR dressing room.

GT hold a commanding 7-3 head-to-head record over RR and famously beat them in both the 2022 Qualifier 1 and the final. But this season, the scores are level – GT won by 77 runs in Jaipur, while RR had a six-run victory in Ahmedabad.

The venue, however, leans firmly in RR’s favour – they have won all four matches in New Chandigarh this season, while GT have managed just one win from three outings here. Come Friday, and both sides will be chasing their third IPL final appearance. For GT, it is about rediscovering their best in the biggest moment, while for RR, it is about sustaining a momentum that feels, right now, unstoppable.

Squads

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (captain), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler, Jason Holder, Nishant Sindhu, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Connor Esterhuizen, R Sai Kishore, Arshad Khan, Ashok Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Kulwant Khejroliya, and Luke Wood

Rajasthan Royals: Riyan Parag (captain), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Donovan Ferreira, Emanjot Chahal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Shimron Hetmyer, Aman Rao, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Yudhvir Singh, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger, Sushant Mishra, Kuldeep Sen, Adam Milne, Brijesh Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Vignesh Puthur, and Yash Raj Punja

–IANS

nr/bsk/