IPL 2026 | Shubman Gill masterclass floors Rajasthan Royals

Mullanpur: The future star of Indian cricket hogged the limelight for an umpteenth time with an innings of exceptional quality, but the superstar of this generation stole the show in the end with a genius knock to power Gujarat Titans into the final of the Indian Premier League here on Friday.   

After 15-year-old wunderkind Sooryavanshi revealed a different facet of his game with an beautifully constructed 96 (47b, 8x4, 7x6) to propel Rajasthan to a competitive 214/6 in Qualifier 2, India’s Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill stamped his class with a majestic 104 (53b, 15x4, 3x6) as 2022 champions Gujarat romped to a crushing 7-wicket win at the Mullanpur Stadium. Gujarat will take on defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday. 

From the moment Gujarat strode to the field, they meant business. Having watched Sooryavanshi cause unprecedented mayhem on Wednesday in the Eliminator clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad, they came out with a definitive plan to curb the prodigy who has taken the cricketing world by storm with his daredevilry.

Unlike Sunrisers, who opted to bowl full to Sooryavanshi and got smashed all over the park, Gujarat focussed on banging it in short and at raw pace. Opening pacers Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada stuck nicely to the plan and dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel inside the second over to put Rajasthan instantly on the back foot.

Gujarat also made life difficult for Sooryavanshi. They offered nothing in his hitting arc — full-length balls around the off and leg stumps. Much of it was short, directed at his rib cage and little wide. Although Sooryavanshi intended to hit them, the pace was high, and he struggled to middle them at the beginning of his innings.

The two early wickets also forced the teenager to recalibrate his plans, considering how heavily Rajasthan had banked on him to do the scoring. It was a real test of character for him, given the fact that this was a do-or-die game, but the southpaw showed there’s more to his batting than just bang-bang. He curbed his all-out aggression and the penchant for sixes; instead, he tried scoring boundaries and blending caution with big shots.

The Bihari also found a solid ally in 37-year-old Jadeja, the master of many a big-stage battle. The school kid and the teacher together went about the repair job beautifully. They took a little time to steady the rocking ship but slowly started to switch gears to seize the momentum and put the pressure back on Gujarat. Just when the tide was on their side, an unlikely elbow injury to Jadeja that resulted in the southpaw retiring hurt after the eighth over derailed Rajasthan. Gujarat used that to pull things back with some quick wickets, but Sooryavanshi continued to take the fight to them.

Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi dazzled yet again with a 47-ball 96 which went in vain. afp

Gujarat seemed shaken that their best-laid plans were torn apart by Sooryavanshi. But they didn’t exhibit any of it when openers Gill and Sai Sudharsan (58) walked in to bat. Yes, scores over 200 have been chased successfully more this season, but this was the Qualifier 2, and pressure was high considering there’s no room for error. For Gill and Sudharsan, it was like child’s play.

The two main batters for the franchise went about their job in workmanlike precision. They stuck to their classical style but didn’t stop themselves from playing the big shots in the game-changing 167-run stand. Gill, who was unceremoniously dropped from the India T20 World Cup squad, yet again showed why he deserves to be in the shortest format with an innings for the ages.