{ “content”: “—\ntitle: "IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 GT vs RR: Sooryavanshi Faces Rabada Tonight"\ndate: "2026-05-29"\nauthor: "Town Post Desk"\ncategory: "sports"\nslug: "ipl-2026-qualifier-2-gt-vs-rr"\ndescription: "Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 97 off 29 balls powered RR into Qualifier 2. Tonight the 15-year-old faces GT’s Rabada-Siraj pace duo in New Chandigarh, with an IPL 2026 final berth against RCB on the line."\nkeywords: ["IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 GT vs RR May 29 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi", "Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 97 off 29 Eliminator RR vs SRH 12 sixes", "Gujarat Titans Rajasthan Royals Qualifier 2 New Chandigarh pitch", "Shubman Gill GT middle order out of form", "Jofra Archer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi RR combination RCB await winner"]\nmeta_description: "Sooryavanshi smashed 97 off 29 balls two nights ago. Tonight he faces Rabada and Siraj in IPL 2026 Qualifier 2, with a final berth vs RCB on the line."\nog_title: "A 15-Year-Old vs the IPL’s Two Fastest Men. Winner Goes to the Final."\nprimary_keyword: "IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 GT vs RR May 29 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi"\nsecondary_keywords: ["Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 97 off 29 Eliminator RR vs SRH 12 sixes", "Gujarat Titans Rajasthan Royals Qualifier 2 New Chandigarh pitch", "Shubman Gill GT middle order out of form", "Jofra Archer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi RR combination RCB await winner"]\nschema_type: "Article"\n—\n\nHe’s 15. Two nights ago, he scored 97 off 29 balls. Tonight, in IPL 2026 Qualifier 2, GT vs RR, he faces the two fastest men in this tournament.\n\nVaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Eliminator knock — 12 sixes, three runs short of Chris Gayle’s fastest-ever IPL hundred — wasn’t a slog at the death. It was a calculated assault that broke Gayle’s record for most sixes in a single season (65 and counting) and left him frozen in disbelief when he finally fell. RR won by 47 runs. He holds the Orange Cap. He broke two IPL records in a match he scored 8 earlier this season — the teenager’s arc defies all logic. And he’s back on the same New Chandigarh pitch tonight for Qualifier 2.\n\nBut this time, the bowling is different.\n\n## The Test GT Built for Exactly This\n\nGujarat Titans have the most complete attack in the tournament — five bowlers with 15-plus wickets, a feat only KKR’s 2024 champions have matched. The spearhead is Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj, who’ve bowled "Test-match lengths" with the new ball and dismantled top order after top order all season. Rabada has already studied the kid. "There’s not an ounce of fear," he said of Sooryavanshi.\n\nMutual respect makes the duel sharper. It doesn’t decide it.\n\n## The Crack GT Keeps Hiding\n\nHere’s what the Sooryavanshi hype is burying: GT might not survive their own batting. In Qualifier 1, they were taken apart — 162 all out in 11.5 overs chasing RCB’s 254. The middle order, flagged as a weakness since April by Matthew Hayden, folded. Gill admitted the fielding was "not up to the mark." Ashwin questioned his captaincy.\n\nGT beat RR by 77 runs in Jaipur earlier this season despite the same middle order concerns — so the real question isn’t whether a teenager can survive elite pace. It’s whether GT’s top order turns up at all.\n\n## IPL 2026 Qualifier 2: What’s Actually on the Line\n\nThe winner travels to Ahmedabad on May 31 to face RCB, who eliminated MI in a last-ball thriller and have already booked their place in the final. For GT, it’s redemption two days after a humiliation. For Rajasthan Royals, riding Archer’s blockbuster form and a single day’s rest, it’s a second IPL title within reach.\n\nA 15-year-old who "doesn’t give a damn about any bowler," against two men paid to make him care. Whoever blinks first watches the final from home.\n\n” }
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