Captain Shubman Gill led from the front and scored a sublime 5th IPL ton, and his hundred, alongside Sai Sudharsan’s half-century, went a long way toward helping GT win this game by 7 wickets. Before Shubman Gill took charge, it was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s magnificent 96 alongside Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 45 and a whirlwind cameo from Donovan Ferreira, where he scored 38* off 11 balls as RR posted a massive 214/6 in 20 overs. Jason Holder and Kagiso Rabada picked up 2 wickets apiece.
In reply, it was the Shubman Gill show as the prince tore apart the RR bowling from the get-go, and he has been given the freedom to work by others. Gill’s ton alongside Sai Sudharsan’s half-century and others chipping in like Rahul Tewatia and Washington Sundar, while Buttler stayed true to himself as GT eventually got over the line with 7 wickets and 8 balls to spare.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s brilliant 96 helps RR post 214/6 in 20 overs
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came out to open the batting for RR while Mohammed Siraj had the ball in hand for GT. Siraj provided the perfect start for GT as he removed Jaiswal for 1 off 2 balls with 2 runs on the scoreboard. Dhruv Jurel came out to bat next. Jurel hit a sumptuous boundary before he fell for 7 off 6 balls with one four to his name as Kagiso Rabada had his man. RR were 9/2 in the second over as Ravindra Jadeja came out to bat next.
Jadeja and Vaibhav then forged a partnership for the third wicket and counter-attacked for RR. Both batters were in and scored quickly to take the power play score to 70/2 in 6 overs. But things changed post the power play. Ravindra Jadeja suffered an elbow injury and got treated by the physio. After 8 overs and the partnership worth 73 runs, Jadeja retired hurt and brought in captain Riyan Parag to the crease.
Rashid Khan came into the attack, and Parag took him apart, hitting for fours and sixes for fun, while Vaibhav hit him for a big hit as well. But the duo of Vaibhav and Parag put on 19 runs off 9 balls before Parag fell for 11 off 6 balls with one four and one six to his name to Jason Holder. Dasun Shanaka came out to bat next, and it was a struggle for the Sri Lankan as he never looked fluent. Just 8 runs were added to the score before Shanaka fell for 3 off 9 balls to Jason Holder yet again.
Jofra Archer came out to bat next and hit a maximum as well. Archer and Vaibhav added 9 runs to the tally before Archer fell for 7 off 4 balls, with one six to his name, to Prasidh Krishna. Ravindra Jadeja came back to resume his innings with an elbow strapped. But Jadeja now resorted to singles. It was the Vaibhav show from hereon. The young man got hit on his head, but just carried on and changed gears.
Vaibhav got to his fifty in 31 balls and changed gears as he took on the GT bowlers head-on in the death overs. Jadeja kept on taking singles or playing dot balls. The duo added 54 runs off 28 balls, with Vaibhav scoring 47 off them. Vaibhav reached his 90s and reached 96 when he played the upper cut down to deep third man, where Krishna took the catch, and Rabada the wicket as Vaibhav fell for 96 off 47 balls with 8 fours and 7 sixes to his name. Donovan Ferreira came in with 16 balls to go in the innings.
Ferreira took his eye in and got some boundaries away initially. RR reached 187/6 in 19 overs when Rashid Khan was given the ball to bowl the final over. Ferreira then provided the finishing kick for his side as he tore Rashid apart. Rashid bowled bad balls while Ferreira smashed him for 4 sixes in the last over, as 27 runs came off the final over.
RR ended with 214/6 in 20 overs with Jadeja unbeaten on 45 off 35 balls with 5 fours and a maximum to his name. Donovan Ferreira finished with an unbeaten 38 off 11 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes to his name. 6 extras in the form of wides given by the fielding side.
The GT bowlers bowled well out there. Jason Holder was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/27 in 4 overs. Kagiso Rabada chipped in with 2/35 in 4 overs. Mohammed Siraj finished with 1/42 in 4 overs. Prasidh Krishna finished with 1/42 in 4 overs. Washington Sundar finished with 0/23 in 2 overs. Rashid Khan finished with 0/45 in 2 overs, a rare off day for him. This meant GT had a stiff target of 215 runs to win the contest.
Shubman Gill’s sublime ton & Sai Sudharsan’s half-century powers GT to an emphatic win and a place in the finals
Chasing 215 for the win, Sai Sudharsan and captain Shubman Gill opened the batting for GT while Jofra Archer started things off for RR. Sudharsan and Gill started on a positive note as Archer went the distance from the get-go. It was the Shubman Gill-Sai Sudharsan show from the outset. They just tore apart and dominated the RR bowlers. The power play score was 69/0 in 6 overs.
Sai Sudharsan dropped a catch off Vaibhav when he was on 46*, got a lifeline when he was batting on 14* as Donovan Ferreira dropped the catch. But then there was no looking back from here. Both of them complemented each other really well, with Gill being the real star and aggressor. He played a chanceless knock. The duo played beyond 10 overs as they reached 133 in the 11th over. Another century stand took place between the two and did not stop there at all.
Gill completed his majestic ton while Sudharsan looked good to stay out there. The opening duo put on 167 for the first wicket before Sudharsan was the first to depart for 58 off 32 balls with 8 fours and one six to his name as he was hit wicket off Brijesh Sharma. Keeper-batter Jos Buttler came out to bat next. The job was more than half done when Sai departed. Gill and Buttler put on 15 runs for the second wicket before Gill fell for 104 off 53 balls with 15 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Jofra Archer. Washington Sundar came out to bat next.
GT were 182/2 in 15 overs. Washington Sundar came and played his shots while Buttler was quietly there at the other end. Sundar hit a couple of boundaries and a maximum to his name. The duo of Sundar and Buttler added 19 runs for the third wicket before Sundar fell for 16 off 9 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Nandre Burger. Impact Player Rahul Tewatia came out to bat next.
Buttler was quiet while Tewatia was in a hurry. Tewatia hit a couple of boundaries and a maximum to finish the game off. The duo of Buttler and Tewatia added an unbroken stand of 18 runs for the 4th wicket as GT got over the line with 8 balls to spare as they finished with 219/3 in 18.4 overs with Buttler unbeaten on 9 off 9 balls alongside Tewatia unbeaten on 17 off 9 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name. 15 extras given by the fielding side as GT reached the summit clash.
RR bowlers were taken to the cleaners. Nandre Burger bowled well for his 1/35 in 4 overs. Jofra Archer finished with 1/45 in 4 overs. Brijesh Sharma finished with 1/44 in 3.4 overs. Impact Player Tushar Deshpande finished with 0/34 in 3 overs. Yash Raj Punja finished with 0/29 in 2 overs. Ravindra Jadeja finished with 0/28 in 2 overs. So, GT thrashed RR by 7 wickets with 8 balls to spare. Captain Shubman Gill, for his great knock, was adjudged the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead
So, GT advances to the finals while RR bows out of the competition. So, the stage is set for the grand finale of IPL 2026. It will be the repeat of Qualifier 1 and the top 2 sides of IPL 2026. It’s going to be defending champions RCB taking on the home side GT in Ahmedabad. Both are looking for their second IPL title. Let’s see who wins this contest on Super Sunday.
Also Read: GT vs RR: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Splendid Knock Helps RR Post Competitive 214/6