Rajasthan Royals’ memorable IPL 2026 campaign concluded in Qualifier 2 on Friday after a seven-wicket defeat against the Gujarat Titans in New Chandigarh on Friday.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi top-scored for the inaugural champions with 96 off 47 balls, while Donovan Ferreira scored an unbeaten 11-ball 38 at the death, lifting the Royals to a total of 214/6.
Shubman Gill (104 off 53 balls) led the way with the bat for GT, who chased down the target in 18.3 overs, while Jason Holder (2/27) and Kagiso Rabada (2/35) were their best bowlers.
Chasing 215 to win, GT got off to a solid start, scoring 69 runs in the powerplay with both openers Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan taking the attack to the RR bowling.
Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan continued to score freely after the powerplay, bringing up their 100-run partnership in the ninth over.
Despite ringing in the bowling changes in search of a wicket, the game had already gone out of reach by the time Sai Sudharsan fell in the 13th over with GT on 167/1.
Shubman Gill also perished a couple of overs later after scoring his century, but Jos Buttler and Rahul Tewatia got GT over the finish line and into the final.
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Earlier, after being put into bat, RR suffered early setbacks with the dismissals of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel inside the first two overs.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ravindra Jadeja then stitched together a crucial stand to rebuild the innings. Sooryavanshi broke free with three fours in the third over before taking on Kagiso Rabada with another boundary and a six in the next.
Jadeja soon joined the assault, striking a six and a couple of boundaries as Rajasthan raced to 70/2 at the end of the powerplay.
However, Jadeja briefly retired hurt shortly after the fielding restrictions ended, having taken a nasty blow to the arm, with RR on 82/2.
RR captain Riyan Parag chipped in with a few boundaries but his stay was cut short in the 10th over when he was caught at mid-off.
Dasun Shanaka and Jofra Archer also departed in quick succession, leaving Rajasthan in trouble before Sooryavanshi once again transformed the contest.
Having already become the first player to score 500 powerplay runs in a single IPL season earlier in the innings, Sooryavanshi shifted gears again, bringing up a 31-ball half-century in the 13th over.
The teenager, reunited at the crease with a recovered Jadeja, then unleashed an assault, dealing almost exclusively in boundaries as he became the fastest player to 1000 IPL runs in terms of balls faced.
Sooryavanshi needed just 440 deliveries to reach the milestone, shattering Andre Russell’s previous record of 545 balls.
He eventually fell for a sensational 96 off 47 deliveries, narrowly missing what would have been his third IPL century.
After his dismissal, Donovan Ferreira provided the finishing flourish. He struck two fours in the penultimate over before smashing four sixes in the final over to propel Rajasthan past the 200-run mark with a formidable total on the board.
Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2026 Qualifier 2, brief scores: RR 214/6 in 20 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 96; Jason Holder 2/27, Kagiso Rabada 2/35) lost to GT 219/3 in 18.4 overs (Shubman Gill 104; Nandre Burger 1/35) by seven wickets.
