GT vs RR Prediction: The journey to the grand finale comes to its final sorting ground tonight, May 29, with Gujarat Titans (GT) facing Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2026 Qualifier 2. The stakes are as clear as day: the winner will fly direct to Ahmedabad to take on defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday. The game will be played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
Both sides have traded heavy blows in the league stage – RR pipping GT by six runs in Ahmedabad and the men from Gujarat hammering the Royals by 77 runs in Jaipur – making this knockout a razor-thin prediction to make. Here’s our expert prediction for the Best Batter, Best Bowler and the Man of the Match for tonight’s blockbusting encounter.
Best Batter: Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans)
Rajasthan’s 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the toast of the town after his historic 29-ball 97 in the Eliminator against SRH but tonight the big-stage pressure will favour experience. Our pick to dominate with the willow: Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill.
Gill is in a pristine love affair with IPL playoffs, just 23 runs away from reaching the legendary 500-run milestone in playoff history. He also has an imperious record against Rajasthan, having smashed 614 runs against them, which is his personal highest against any single franchise. Gill will be expected to anchor the innings and take advantage of the Mullanpur surface beautifully after a crushing loss to RCB in Qualifier 1.
Best Bowler: Jofra Archer (Rajasthan Royals)
Mullanpur has offered a consistent bounce and carry all through the season which makes it a dream deck for express pace bowlers who can hit a hard length. The English speedster, Jofra Archer has been at the forefront of the Royals’ attack ruthlessly throughout IPL 2026, sitting pretty near the top of the charts with 24 wickets. Archer’s first spell totally broke the back of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator. If he can break down GT’s top order and get Gill or Jos Buttler early under the lights, he will write the entire script of the game.
Man of the Match: Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans)
Traditionally, knockout games are won by world-class all-rounders who can turn a match in the span of fifteen minutes and Rashid Khan is the ultimate big-match maestro. Rashid had completely slaughtered RR the last time the two sides met on May 9, walking away with the Player of the Match award after a masterclass performance.
Mullanpur’s track is expected to remain true and Rashid’s four overs in the middle phase will be critical to choke RR’s dangerous middle order. Rashid Khan is our prime prediction to pick up the Man of the Match award and propel the Titans to their third IPL final, adding to his ability to score lightning-fast lower-order runs.
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Debayan Bhattacharyya is a seasoned sports journalist and digital media professional, currently serving as the Chief Sub Editor at ITV Digital (NewsX). A true Football-Fanatic Bong, his professional journey began at Zee Media, where he kicked off his career as a Sub-Editor for the sports team at India.com and CricketCountry. His ability to blend insightful analysis with rapid-fire news delivery soon led him to Times Network, where he served as a Senior Copy Editor for Times Now. Before his current role at NewsX, Debayan spent a significant tenure at OneIndia’s MyKhel as a Senior Sub Editor.
