A clash of ideologies will take centerstage in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026 when the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) meet at a neutral venue in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, on Friday evening with a place in the final up for grabs.
Both teams have depended heavily on their top three this season, though their batting templates have been contrasting.
The GT top three of Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler bat with what many call the outdated T20 approach, but GT’s bowling strength has backed up their methods as the Titans finished second on the points table with 18 points.
RR have been riding on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s phenomenal and record-setting season, while Jofra Archer has been the head of RR’s bowling snake.
GT are coming off a 92-run defeat against RCB in Qualifier 2, whereas RR thumped SRH by 47 runs in the Eliminator.
GT vs RR: What happened when the two teams met in IPL 2026 in the league stage?
GT and RR collided twice in the league stage of IPL 2026. In their first encounter, in Ahmedabad, half-centuries from Jaiswal and Jurel and a four-wicket haul from Ravi Bishnoi helped RR escape by only six runs.
In their next bout in Jaipur, GT completely outplayed the home side, beating RR by 77 runs. Shubman Gill starred with 84 runs and Rashid Khan with a four-for.
GT vs RR contests to watch out for today: Sooryavanshi vs Rabada-Siraj-Rashid
There is a feeling among the masses that it is only Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who will stand between GT and the final. He has blasted 680 runs at a strike rate of 242. Against SRH, his stay at the crease lasted only eight overs, but by then, RR had moved way ahead in the game through the youngster’s 29-ball 97.
This season, against GT, Sooryavanshi managed scores of 31 (18) and 36 (16), dismissed by Rashid Khan and Mohammed Siraj.
The GT bowlers are in top form: Rabada, Siraj, Rashid, and Holder all have taken 15 or more wickets. So GT do have the quality to dismiss Sooryavanshi in multiple ways.
GT vs RR: Injury news
Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja both have been dealing with niggles, but both featured in the Eliminator and will take the field in Qualifier 2 as well.
While GT have no injury worries, they could ring in one change by dropping Kulwant Khejroliya for either Arshad Khan or Shahrukh Khan.
GT vs RR head-to-head record:
The Gujarat Titans have beaten the Rajasthan Royals 7 times and conceded a loss only thrice. They met in the final of IPL 2022, when GT emerged victorious.
GT vs RR head-to-head stats in IPL:
- Matches: 10
- GT won: 7
- RR won: 3
- No result: 0
- Tied: 0
IPL 2026: GT vs RR Predicted 11 And Impact Player Today
GT predicted XII:
Shubman Gill (C), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Holder, Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan/Shahrukh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tewatia (Impact Player)
RR predicted XII:
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Riyan Parag (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Dasun Shanaka, Donovan Ferreira, Nandre Burger, Jofra Archer, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja, Ravindra Jadeja, Sushant Mishra (Impact Player)
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.
