Gujarat Titans will face an uphill task to recover from their Qualifier 1 defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and rally for a comeback shot at the IPL 2026 title. However, former India spinner R Ashwin believes Shubman Gill’s men are the firm favourites to upstage Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier 2 match on Friday and redeem themselves against RCB in the final on Sunday.
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Despite conceding a whopping 254-run total to RCB and succumbing to a 92-run defeat, Ashwin remarked that the Titans will certainly take down Rajasthan before utilising the home advantage in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“GT will 100% beat RR all the way. I can give it in writing. And if GT qualify for the final, they are winning the trophy for sure. They’ve the Ahmedabad track measured to an inch. GT will win their second title. RCB’s only hope is to catch a flight and stop GT in Mullanpur itself because they’ve no chance in Ahmedabad,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
In the two league-stage matches this season, RR and GT shared the spoils one each. While RR emerged victorious in Ahmedabad, the Titans pulled off a big win in Jaipur.
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Ashwin said that while Rajasthan may win the contest over Gujarat on paper, Gill’s men will still hold the edge. The former RR bowler also noted how Sooryavanshi was kept relatively quiet in both previous encounters this season.
“The truth is RR should beat GT in Qualifier 2 in terms of analysis. Yet, GT will win. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be a massive factor, but he knows he has to be careful against Siraj and Rabada. Even though he scored some in the two matches against GT, he didn’t go helter-skelter. He has to surely score and I want him to but I strongly believe GT are winning,” added Ashwin.
