Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, all of 15, will sparkle in the Indian Premier League for a long time. Certain as that appears after a 776-run season, the final of IPL 2026 in Ahmedabad on Sunday will not have his precocious presence. It is for no fault of his, for the prodigy smashed a 47-ball 96 (8x4, 7x6) to propel Rajasthan Royals to 214 for six against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh on Friday.

But in a contest pitted as Titans’ collective strength versus RR’s individual brilliance, the opening pair of Sai Sudharsan (58, 32b, 8x4, 1x6) and skipper Shubman Gill (104, 53b, 15x4, 3x6) reiterated that there are many paths to excellence. Both openers cut, drove and pulled with old-school finesse on their way to a stand of 167. It sealed a seven-wicket victory for the Titans, who will now play the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the summit clash in a repeat of Qualifier 1. It is their third final in five seasons.

The opening alliance ended in rather unfortunate fashion when the bat slipped out of Sai Sudharsan’s hands after driving Brijesh Sharma for a boundary and landed on the stumps.

Till then, the GT pair had kept up with the asking rate from the get-go without ever seeming to take undue risks. Gill was at his regal best, getting to his century off 47 deliveries by waltzing down the track to drive Ravindra Jadeja for a four.

In a rare occurrence, Sooryavanshi’s knock — his third score in the 90s in the last four innings — was relegated to the background.

On the same pitch that was used for the Eliminator, Sooryavanshi showed a very different side of his game, even if a strike rate of 204.25 doesn’t suggest so. It took him 31 deliveries to reach his half-century, the slowest of his nine fifty-plus scores in the IPL. He took 14 balls to hit the first of his seven sixes. That wickets fell at the other end didn’t deter him. Nor did a blow on the helmet off a Kagiso Rabada bouncer.

It was just that Gill’s class on the night, in particular, was a shade superior.