The Royals have made it to this point largely thanks to the heroics of teenage superstar Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who tops the IPL scoring charts with 680 runs from 15 innings.
He was sensational in striking 97 off just 29 deliveries in the Eliminator as Rajasthan saw off the challenge of Sunrisers Hyderabad to win by 47 runs on Wednesday.
The win set up the Qualifier 2 clash against Gujarat at the New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Friday.
Qualifier 2 is officially locked in! 🔒
One final hurdle to the summit clash 🎟️#TATAIPL | #Qualifier2 | #TheFinalLeap | #GTvRR pic.twitter.com/y73BAkfWXC
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 27, 2026
Attention now shifts to Gujarat who boast brilliant openers Sai Sudharsan (652 runs, 2nd) and Shubman Gill (618 runs, 4th), as well as explosive middle order batter Jos Buttler (498 runs).
However, all eyes will be on Sooryavanshi and whether the GT attack can rein in the young strokemaker whose 12 sixes against Sunrisers took his tally to 65 for the season – surpassing the long-standing record of 59 held by Chris Gayle.
Universe Boss hails new King of Sixes
Leading the charge for the Titans will be Proteas pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada who is joint-top of the wicket-taking standings with 24 scalps.
Look at the real-time pace of Kagiso Rabada’s 150 kmph deliveries. 😳🔥 pic.twitter.com/vnKekNBavp
— OldMonkOfCricket (@OldMonkOfCric) May 26, 2026
Teammates Rashid Khan (19) and Mohammed Siraj (17) will also have crucial roles to play, but Titans fans will be looking to KG to knock over the big guns, including Sooryavanshi.
Rajasthan were the last of the four teams to qualify and only just scraped through after looking out of contention earlier in the season.
A run of six losses from eight games left their hopes hanging by a thread and only wins in their final two matches over Lucknow Super Giants and the Mumbai Indians saw them squeeze through.
But Rajasthan made it count with a dominant performance against Sunrisers which sent Heinrich Klaasen and his team packing.
The winner of Qualifier 2 takes on Royal Challengers on Sunday at the 130,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to crown the 2026 IPL champions.
Photo: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters
