IPL Qualifier 2: Same but different as Gujarat and Rajasthan chase the bottom spot

Rajasthan Royals’ top three have scored 1,614 runs in this IPL season. Gujarat Titans’ top three was slightly better: a total of 1,768 runs. Rajasthan bowlers picked 37 wickets with the new ball. Gujarat bowled them out by 43 wickets. Same, same? But differently. It will be a fascinating clash when Rajasthan Royals take on Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2, virtual semi-final at New Chandigarh on Friday, May 29.

Why are they the same but different?

Rajasthan’s top three set about banging the bowlers into the stands. Led by 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has been clearing the ropes every four balls this season, they burst into the lead and dared to keep pace. Gujarat’s Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan have quietly amassed over 1,200 runs, but they go about it differently: less chaos, more craft.

Both teams hunted in the power play with the ball. Jofra Archer was facing something terrifying, sending the clubs back with lightning bolts at 150 km/h. Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj, meanwhile, topped the tally with 43 wickets, more than any other new pair in the tournament.

But only one team will arrive in this virtual semi-final with the wind in their sails.

The Royals drove a incredible 29-ball 97 from Sooryavanshi and new ball Jofra Archer dismantled SunRisers Hyderabad on Wednesday – posting 243 and defending it for 47 runs as if it was a practice match. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored a 29-ball 97 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Courtesy: Reuters

Gujarat were ripped apart in Dharamsala on Tuesday. Royal challengers Bengaluru handed them one of their heaviest defeats – by 92 runs – as Siraj and Rabada were carried around, RCB amassed 254 and the top three of Sai, Gill and Buttler crumbled, leaving Gujarat for 162.

It was the kind of night that tests what a team is really made of.

The turnaround was brutal for both sides. Rajasthan opted to rest in front of the nets on the eve of the match.

Gujarat practiced briefly, their frontline bowlers conspicuous by their absence. Defeat by 92 runs in the knockout match would break most teams.

But Gujarat is wired differently. They won 9 out of 14 league games with the same play – no elaborate backup plans, no breakthroughs. Just Plan A, executed with conviction. When it clicks, it’s merciless. Dharamshala was a day off, not a crisis.

This belief was reflected in how they trained. Coach Ashish Nehra, bootless at the boundary, watched proceedings with the quiet authority of a man who has seen enough cricket to know that panic is an option. Captain Gill and No. 4 Nishant Sindhu put up the hard yards to the nets. Sai Sudharsan, their leading run-getter, missed batting altogether – but stayed back after practice to coach the shadows and play out scenarios that only he could see.

Their assistant coach Parthiv Patel did not sound like a man trying to convince himself. He sounded like a man who truly believed it.

“We finished No.2 and we know the kind of cricket we want to play. We’re backing ourselves. We’ve qualified consistently in the last four-five years, won one title and finished second once, so the results are there for everyone to see,” he said on the eve of the match.

“Everybody has a different way of playing. We have our own style. Even in the first half of the tournament when we weren’t doing so great and we were doing well, we still stuck to our process. We believe in our abilities and we know what we can do. That’s something we’ll try to do tomorrow.”

“We feel like we’re a very good unit and if we go out there and execute our plans, I think we can win.

RR vs GT: HEAD TO HEAD

Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals have beaten each other once in the league stage. Courtesy: Reuters

Gujarat Titans have historically had the upper hand on Rajasthan Royals: seven wins in 10 meetings. This season the honors are tied.

In Ahmedabad, Rajasthan’s top order fired beautifully to hand GT one of their two home defeats – a comprehensive 77-run victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Gujarat hit back in Jaipur. Gill and Sai put on more than a hundred for a total of 229 and Rashid Khan took four wickets to shut the door – another 77-run win, this time in pink. One win each. Friday will fix it.

MULLANPUR WEATHER AND COURSE CONDITIONS

Strong gusts swept through New Chandigarh on Thursday evening, bringing the temperature down and the ground staff scrambling to cover the pitch. Friday is expected to be hot, but AccuWeather has warned of the possibility of isolated thunderstorms during the afternoon.

The likelihood of game disruption is slim, but if the rain comes early, it can leave the surface wet – a gift for riders on both sides.

Pitch #4, the same strip as Wednesday, will get a second life in the evening. It should be a batting friendly surface. But if the sun does its job and bakes it all afternoon, they could have spinners, and one in particular, what to say later in the night.

TEAM NEWS

Rajasthan Royals have no reason to change anything. Yash Raj Punja maintains its place ahead of Ravi Bishnoi. The young leg-spinner earned that confidence with Heinrich Klaasen’s big wicket in the Eliminator and RR are not the type of side to pull the rug out from under someone mid-run.

Gujarat has a tougher challenge. Kulwant Khejroliya’s experiment may have ended after a rough night in Dharamshala. Arshad Khan is waiting in the wings if they want more firepower with the ball.

There is also an extra spinner on the table in Manav Suthar or Sai Kishore. How Nehra reads this pitch before the toss could define Gujarat’s entire evening.

Rajasthan Predicted XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (Goalkeeper), Riyan Parag (Captain), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma.

Impact Sub: Sushant Mishra.

Gujarat Predicted XI: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj.

Impact Sub: Prasidh Krishna.

IPL 2 Qualifiers: TALKING POINTS

Can Kagiso Rabada beat Vaibhav Sooryavanshi? Courtesy: Reuters

Sooryavanshi vs Siraj and Rabada

The 15-year-old has been the most electric player in the tournament but Gujarat’s new pair will have a plan for him and support him on Friday. Siraj dismissed Sooryavanshi when the two sides met in Jaipur, dragged him into the drive and found the edge. He will want to do it again. Rabada, meanwhile, has made a habit of targeting the ribs this season and there is no more compelling matchup in this game than watching the 15-year-old decide in real time whether to flinch or swing.

If Sooryavanshi takes off, Rajasthan is halfway home. If they don’t, Gujarat has already won the first battle.

Gill and Sai vs Archer

The two have been the backbone of GT all season – quiet, tireless, north of 1200 drives between them. But both fell cheaply in Dharamshala and the image of how their top-order folded against a ferocious attack is still fresh. Now comes Archer, fresh from dismantling the top order of SunRises. 150 km/h, the late form and air of a man who saved himself exactly for this stage. How quickly Gill and Sai find their feet and whether they carry Dharamshala with them or leave it in the dressing room could decide this game before ten.

Can Rashid strike?

Rashid Khan is doing what he always does when he has found his mood after a tough last season. Appears on the scoresheet at the right time, with the right goal, almost unannounced. He has been GT’s most reliable keeper in the back half of the season and his 4-for against this Rajasthani side in Jaipur is not something their middle order will forget.

– The end

Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

29 May 2026 10:14 IST