Chasing a steep 215, Gujarat Titans needed a captain’s innings, and Shubman Gill delivered the fastest hundred ever scored in an Indian Premier League (IPL, India’s top Twenty20 franchise competition) playoff. His 104 off 53 balls powered the Titans to a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday, completed inside 18.4 overs, and sent Gujarat into their third final in five seasons. They meet defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The win carried an edge most knockout victories do not. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had hammered the same Gujarat side by 92 runs in Qualifier 1 only days earlier. Now the Titans get a rematch on the biggest night of the season, and the way Gill dismantled a 200-plus total suggests the gap between the two teams may be smaller than that scoreline implied.
Gill’s 47-Ball Century Rewrites the Playoff Record Book
Gill reached three figures off just 47 deliveries, the quickest hundred in the history of IPL knockout cricket. He was eventually trapped leg before wicket (lbw, out when the ball would have hit the stumps) by Jofra Archer, but by then the contest was long settled. It was a knock built on timing rather than slogging, with the Gujarat skipper pulling Archer’s extreme pace cleanly and skipping down the track to the spinners.
The records stacked up fast. Gill became the first captain to make an IPL playoff century and the first batter to score two of them, adding to a list that already separated him from the league’s heaviest hitters.
- 47 balls to his hundred, the fastest in IPL playoff history.
- 104 off 53, decorated with 15 fours and three sixes before he fell to Archer.
- First captain ever to register a century in an IPL playoff match.
- Two playoff hundreds, a tournament first, and his fifth IPL century overall.
In a format that increasingly rewards raw power, Gill’s innings was a reminder that placement and control still win knockout games. He found gaps the Royals could not plug, and the boundaries came in clusters rather than in single violent overs.
The Opening Stand That Settled a 215-Run Chase
Gill did not do it alone. He and Sai Sudharsan put on a 167-run opening partnership off only 77 balls, the highest stand in IPL playoff history. It surpassed the 159 runs Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay made for Chennai Super Kings in the 2011 final, a record that had stood for 15 years.
Sudharsan was the ideal foil, racing to 58 off 32 balls while Gill set the tempo. For the second match running, he lost his grip on the bat mid-shot and was dismissed hit wicket in freak fashion, a rare blemish on an otherwise fluent night for the Titans top order.
By the time the stand was broken, Gujarat needed barely a run a ball with wickets in hand. The chase that began as a tall order on a used Mullanpur surface turned into a procession.
| Record | This match | Previous best |
|---|---|---|
| Highest IPL playoff partnership | 167 (Gill and Sudharsan) | 159 (Hussey and Vijay, 2011 final) |
| Fastest IPL playoff hundred | 47 balls (Gill) | Previous mark surpassed |
| GT successful chase in this game | 215 in 18.4 overs | Highest in franchise history |
Three Finals in Five Seasons: The Titans’ Playoff Pedigree
This is where the story stops being about one innings. Since entering the league in 2022, Gujarat Titans (GT) have reached the playoffs in four of five seasons and the final in three of them. No franchise has built that kind of record so quickly after launching.
They won the title in their very first campaign, beating Rajasthan Royals in the 2022 final. A year later they returned to the final and fell to Chennai Super Kings. Friday’s win adds a third final to a young franchise that has treated knockout cricket as familiar ground rather than uncharted territory. You can trace the franchise’s run of three finals in five seasons on the club’s own record.
| Season | Final opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Rajasthan Royals | Won, title on debut |
| 2023 | Chennai Super Kings | Runner-up |
| 2026 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Final on Sunday |
The common thread across those campaigns has been a chase-first identity and a top order that does not panic against big totals. Gill, who took over the captaincy and the opening role, has become the face of that approach. Friday’s effort was the loudest proof yet that the model travels into the playoffs intact.
Sooryavanshi’s 96 and Another Royals Heartbreak
Rajasthan Royals (RR) gave themselves every chance with the bat. Choosing to bat first, they posted 214 for 6, a total that looked more than competitive on a pitch that had already hosted the Eliminator and was visibly slower.
The innings belonged to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old walked in after RR lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel inside the first two overs to Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada, and he absorbed early pressure as Gujarat’s bowlers banged the ball into his body. He survived a dropped catch on 46 off Sudharsan, then accelerated into a knock the Royals will rue not converting.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 96 off 47, including a straight six off a 153 kmph Rabada delivery, before falling at third man for the second near-century in a row.
- Ravindra Jadeja, 45 not out off 35, promoted to number four, who retired hurt with a tennis elbow issue and returned to steady the death overs.
- Donovan Ferreira’s late assault, 27 runs from a Rashid Khan over with four sixes, the blow that lifted RR past 210.
For a teenager who made 97 in the previous game, a second dismissal in the 90s was cruel. The upper cut off Rabada found the fielder, and Rajasthan lost the only batter capable of matching Gill blow for blow.
A Final Rematch With the Side That Crushed Them
Gujarat now walk into Sunday’s final carrying a fresh scar. Royal Challengers Bengaluru thumped them by 92 runs in Qualifier 1, posting 254 for 5, the highest team total in IPL playoff history, behind an unbeaten 93 from captain Rajat Patidar. The Titans were bowled out for 162 in reply, the kind of result that usually breaks a team’s tournament.
Instead it set up a clean storyline. RCB earned a direct route to the final through that win, while Gujarat had to grind back through Qualifier 2. The defending champions, who finished top of the league stage, will start as favourites at a venue that has been kind to them.
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Gujarat Titans | |
|---|---|---|
| Route to final | Direct via Qualifier 1 win | Via Qualifier 2 after Q1 loss |
| Status | Defending champions, league toppers | Three-time finalist |
| Recent head-to-head | Won Q1 by 92 runs | Beat RR by seven wickets |
There is recent history under the lights at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Royal Challengers Bengaluru lifted their maiden trophy there in 2025, edging Punjab Kings by six runs, and you can revisit the maiden title win that ended an 18-year wait on the club’s site. The full margin of the Qualifier 1 demolition in Dharamshala sits in the official match report.
If Gill and Sudharsan reproduce Friday’s tempo against RCB’s bowling, the Titans turn a one-sided semi-final into a genuine contest. If RCB’s batting fires the way it did in Qualifier 1, Sunday becomes a coronation rather than a fight.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is the IPL 2026 final?
The IPL 2026 final is scheduled for Sunday, May 31, 2026, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with play starting at 7:30 PM IST.
Who does Gujarat Titans face in the final?
Gujarat Titans face Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending champions who won their first IPL title in 2025 and topped the league stage this season.
What records did Shubman Gill break in Qualifier 2?
Gill made the fastest hundred in IPL playoff history off 47 balls, became the first captain to score a playoff century, and became the first batter to record two playoff hundreds.
How did Gujarat Titans reach the final?
Gujarat beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in Qualifier 2, chasing down 215 in 18.4 overs, the highest successful chase in the franchise’s history.
