New Chandigarh mein Qualifier 2 Rajasthan Royals aur Gujarat Titans ko IPL 2026 final ki ek seat ke liye head-to-head laata hai. GT yahan Royal Challengers Bengaluru se Qualifier 1 haarne ke baad aa rahe hain, jabki RR Eliminator mein Sunrisers Hyderabad ko hara ke yahan pahunche. Dono teams apne top three pe kaafi heavily depend karti hain aur dono ka middle order weak hai. Match wahi pitch pe hai jo Eliminator mein use hui thi, aur dew bahut kam expected hai.
Toss & Conditions
New Chandigarh is season high-scoring raha hai, jahan tournament mein pehle 220 aur 223 ke targets chase ho chuke hain. Yeh game Eliminator wali same pitch use karega, aur surface ko worn-out bola ja raha hai, saath hi dew bhi kam expected hai—jo chasing ko harder bana sakta hai aur toss discussion mein batting-first ko wapas le aata hai.
Head-to-Head
Last three head-to-head meetings mein RR 2-1 se lead karte hain. Sabse recent meeting mein GT ne RR ko dominate kiya—229/4 pile up karke aur phir RR ko 152 pe all out karke 77-run win le gaye. Pehle ke do games tight the: ek mein RR 6 runs se jeete, aur doosre mein 8 wickets se, 25 balls remaining ke saath. In teen matches mein results ek heavy GT win aur do RR wins ke beech swing hue hain, aur margins bhi kaafi different rahe hain.
Rajasthan Royals
RR ka record 9W-6L hai, NRR +0.407 ke saath. Woh three-match winning streak pe aa rahe hain, jismein sabse recent Sunrisers Hyderabad ke against 47-run win bhi hai. Is run mein Lucknow Super Giants ke against ek successful chase bhi tha, jo 5 balls remaining ke saath finish hua.
Gujarat Titans
GT ka record 9W-6L hai, NRR -0.010 ke saath. Unke last three games mein do defeats hain, aur sabse recent Royal Challengers Bengaluru ke against 92-run loss. Beech mein unhone Chennai Super Kings ke against 89-run win se response bhi diya tha.
Playing XI
News & Facts
- GT openers Shubman Gill aur B Sai Sudharsan ne powerplay mein low-risk approach liya hai; is season GT ka powerplay scoring rate 9.66 hai, jo unhe bottom half mein rakhta hai.
- RR ka first six overs mein run rate is season 11.66 hai, tournament ka best.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ne is season 65 sixes maare hain; Gill aur Sai Sudharsan milke 59 pe hain.
- RR ne New Chandigarh mein apne khele hue saare 4 matches jeete hain; GT ke wahan 3 games mein 1 win aur 2 losses hain.
- Kagiso Rabada ne Yashasvi Jaiswal ko 27 balls mein 27 runs deke 3 baar dismiss kiya hai.
Key Stats
Prediction
Saare 4 models RR ko favour karte hain, average projection RR 58% vs GT 42% (RR ke liye range 52–64%). Bookmakers bhi RR ki taraf lean kar rahe hain: RR 55% (1.72) vs GT 45% (2.10). Key stats RR ko 4-3 se edge dete hain, better recent results, better NRR, aur death-overs economy advantage ki wajah se. Match ki narrative RR ke faster powerplay scoring vs GT ke lower-risk starts preference pe hinge karti hai—ek used pitch pe jahan chasing straightforward nahi ho sakti.
Gill’s chase-killing hundred
Shubman Gill didn’t so much pace a chase as erase it, taking Gujarat Titans to a 7-wicket win with 8 balls remaining. Rajasthan Royals had done plenty right to post 214/6, and for a moment it felt like a par-plus total on a used surface. But once Gill found his timing in the powerplay, the contest shifted from “can GT get there?” to “how quickly?”.
Middle overs become a runway
The game was effectively won in the middle overs, where GT turned a solid start into a runaway. After matching RR’s powerplay tempo at 69/0, Gill and Sai Sudharsan ripped through the next phase at 12 an over, adding a defining 163-run partnership. RR’s brief hope came when the chase finally produced wickets in the middle, but by then GT were already ahead of the curve and only needed a controlled finish.
Suryavanshi shines, Gill seals
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s 96 off 47 was the reason RR had a contest at all, anchoring the best stand of their innings (92 with Riyan Parag) before the death overs exploded for 60/1. For GT, Gill’s 104 was the match’s defining act, with Sudharsan’s 58 ensuring the chase never stalled. Jason Holder’s 2/27 also mattered: his control kept RR from pushing beyond 220, a difference that vanished once Gill took charge.
Why the script flipped
Pre-match, the lean was towards RR: better recent form, a death-overs edge, and the sense that chasing wouldn’t be straightforward. Instead, the pitch played truer than expected under lights, and GT’s “lower-risk” template became high-impact because Gill’s intent arrived early. RR’s own innings also showed the trade-off: 70/2 in the powerplay meant they had to rebuild, and even a 15-an-over finish couldn’t create scoreboard pressure once GT went wicketless up front.

