Rashid Khan has a strong record against a number of the Rajasthan Royals batters. | Photo Credit: AP

Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals will look to advance their IPL 2026 title hopes by advancing from Qualifier 2 in New Chandigarh on May 29.

GT finds itself in the clash after losing to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1, while RR advanced by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator.

The winner of this match will play RCB in the final on May 31.

These two sides have met twice already in IPL 2026, with each team winning one match each. RR won the first meeting by just six runs in a thriller in Ahmedabad, before GT claimed the second by flattening RR by 77 runs in Jaipur.

Here are three key battles that could decide the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals in New Chandigarh on May 29. 

Jofra Archer (RR) vs Shubman Gill and B. Sai Sudharsan (GT)

Jofra Archer’s match-changing new ball burst in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad once again proved just how vital he is to RR’s success. The English quick became the first bowler to dismiss all three of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Ishan Kishan in the same innings to scupper the SRH chase.

Archer’s clash against GT’s prolific opening pair of Shubman Gill and B. Sai Sudharsan thus becomes key on Friday night. Neither batter scores particularly quickly against Archer, and he has also dismissed GT captain Gill thrice.

However, in the last meeting between these sides in Jaipur, Archer was profligate with the new ball. He went for 33 in his first two overs (including nine extras), and the fast start it afforded GT was crucial to its comfortable victory.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) vs Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada (GT)

It goes without saying but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s heroics on Wednesday night once again restate the importance he has to this RR side. Few know this as well as GT, the team he famously blitzed for his first IPL hundred back in 2025.

His two encounters with RR in 2026 have yielded breezy 30s, but he has still taken its new-ball pairing of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada to the cleaners in their interactions. A kernel of hope for GT comes from the fact that Siraj did actually manage to bounce Sooryavanshi out the last time these teams played.

Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag (RR) vs Rashid Khan (GT) 

If Sooryavanshi can start brightly again on Friday, the onus will then be on the rest of the batting order to continue the positive momentum. With RR’s lower-order short on runs, much of that responsibility will fall on the senior pair of Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag, who will be tasked with dealing with Rashid Khan’s leg-spin.

However, the Afghan leggie has a strong record against both batters. He has accounted for both of them twice in the past, and neither has been able to score particularly quickly against him. He also has strong records against Ravindra Jadeja and Yashasvi Jaiswal, making him a serious threat to RR’s batting lineup.

Published on May 29, 2026