Gujarat Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals 214 for 6 (Sooryavanshi 96, Jadeja 45*, Ferreira 38*, Holder 2-27, Rabada 2-35) by seven wickets at 219 for 3 (Gill 104, Sai Sudharsan 58).
Even though Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's near-solo effort failed to propel Rajasthan Royals (RR) into the IPL 2026 final, the greatest batting season by anyone in a T20 league grew even greater with 96 against the strongest bowling attack of the tournament on a less-than-straightforward pitch. Gujarat Titans (GT) set up a rematch of Qualifier 1 versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final by executing the second-highest successful chase in any knockout or playoff match in all T20 cricket. However, GT will play at their home field in Ahmedabad this time.

Even though it was a slower innings, Sooryavanshi's IPL 2026 concluded with 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.3, which was just as good as his 97 in the Eliminator. He had to battle a bowling attack that could take advantage of the circumstances, a poor RR middle order that became chaotic due to an injury to the new No. 4 Ravindra Jadeja, and an initially two-paced pitch. Sooryavanshi reached 96 off 47 from his slowest fifty—still just 31 balls—but was caught at deep third with a century in sight for the second consecutive time.

Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan nearly strolled through the chase from the moment Jofra Archer got off to an indifferent start in the first over, but Sooryavanshi's strokes once again left mouths on the ground. For this season, they both followed Sooryavanshi into the 700s, but they did so in a different way by taking less chances. But that was all that separated the two sides: Gill and Sudharsan were two, and Sooryavanshi was one.

Drama prior to the game
Gill was upset that the toss had to be redone thirty minutes prior to the start of the game because the match referee had failed to hear Riyan Parag's call. On a used pitch, both teams were eager to bat first. It wasn't the first time that a team led or coached by Kumar Sangakkara won a major toss on the second attempt, decided to bat first, and the opposition captain mastered the chase in batting conditions that had improved. Both the throws for the broadcast and the 2011 ODI World Cup final were officiated by Ravi Shastri.

Siraj and Rabada are once again having an influence
In Qualifier 1, they combined for 100 in seven overs, but GT's two mainstays with new balls, Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada, each took a wicket in their opening overs. They were one again consistently hitting the hard and nice distances. Siraj was short of a length in the first four deliveries, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal with a top edge after hitting Sooryavanshi's bat low twice. With a 146 kmph delivery that seamed away to induce a mishit to mid-off in the second over, Rabada defeated Dhruv Jurel.

The trial with Jadeja
RR probably elevated Jadeja to No. 4 in order to give Parag and Donovan Ferreira better points of entry, and he did more than simply see off the new ball. For a while, he hit more frequently than Sooryavanshi, who was only able to smash one six on the powerplay—straight into the sight screen after Rabada shot a hard-length ball at 153 kph. Despite having a shoulder ailment, Siraj bowled during the powerplay.

Jadeja's injury stops development
Everything was going well for RR until Jadeja's tennis elbow problem came up, forcing him to retire. RR lost ground in the middle overs despite Rashid Khan's mediocre opening over, which went for eighteen. Using his height and the center of the pitch to his advantage, Jason Holder, who is having his greatest bowling season in the IPL, removed Parag and Dasun Shanaka in his first two overs. RR sent Jadeja back in and promoted Archer in an effort to keep Ferreira's point of entry safe. When Jadeja returned, RR had dropped from 82 for 2 in eight overs to 118 for 5 in 12.4 overs.

Sai Sudharsan, who misread a catch and rushed in late from deep square leg, gave Sooryavanshi a reprieve during this 28-ball session.
Ferreira and Sooryavanshi give RR a final push
Jadeja and Sooryavanshi were the first pair to record two half-century stands in the same T20 innings, despite Jadeja's difficulty with fluency in his second outing. In the process, Sooryavanshi broke a few less unusual marks, including the fastest to 1000 IPL runs, the most boundaries in a single tournament, and more than 500 runs in a powerplay. The best part of his innings was hitting powerful lengths over long-off and extra cover. In order to hit an upper-cut above point, he also retreated.

In the previous game, on 97, Sooryavanshi attempted to hit away from deep third but instead found the guy. He attempted to clear the man this time, but Rabada managed to get the bouncer high enough to draw the edge once more, taking 28 wickets and regaining the Purple Cap.
But Rashid's horror persisted into his final over of the innings, when Ferreira smashed him for four sixes from the crease and down the ground.In the previous game, on 97, Sooryavanshi attempted to hit away from deep third but instead found the guy. He attempted to clear the man this time, but Rabada managed to get the bouncer high enough to draw the edge once more, taking 28 wickets and regaining the Purple Cap.

Additionally, there were indications that the pitch had become better for batting. Gill and Sudharsan advanced risk-free hitting when the spongy bounce vanished and the ball continued to skid.
Gill overtook Sudharsan with some exquisite batting outside of the powerplay, but Sudharsan had a good start and had a life on 14 off 8. In the second innings, it appeared like there were not enough fielders on duty, and Gill could find holes everywhere, even though Sooryavanshi had to remove fielders.
Gill's century was the fastest by a GT player, the chase was GT's greatest, and the century stand between Gill and Sudharsan was a world record 11th.