Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 96 went in vain as Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets on Friday to reach the IPL final against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Chasing 215, Gujarat reached the target with eight balls to spare in New Chandigarh after skipper Shubman Gill made 104.
Gill added 167 runs with opening partner Sai Sudharsan, who scored 58, as Gujarat entered their third final in five seasons since winning the title in their debut campaign in 2022, after losing the first play-off to Bengaluru.
Teenage batter Sooryavanshi ended his campaign at the top of this season’s batting chart with 776 runs after his 47-ball knock, which included eight fours and seven sixes.
Gill, India’s Test and ODI captain, is behind him with 722 runs and can move ahead in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
“I was in the kind of zone where I was just looking at the gaps and the bowler and see my zone and try to hit it there,” said player of the match Gill. “That’s what happens when you’re batting well, you see the gaps and middle it.”
Gill and the left-handed Sudharsan controlled the chase against a bowling attack led by Jofra Archer.
Sudharsan, who was dropped on 14, fell hit wicket for the second match in a row after his bat slipped on to the stumps while guiding the ball for four.
Gill brought up his first century of the season with a boundary before Archer trapped him lbw. Jos Buttler made nine before Rahul Tewatia hit an unbeaten 17, including the winning six, to complete the chase.
Earlier, Sooryavanshi and Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 45, guided Rajasthan to 214-6.
Sooryavanshi, who scored a 29-ball 97 in the eliminator, missed out on another hundred after miscuing a shot to deep third man off Kagiso Rabada.
He reached his fifth half-century of the season in 31 balls, his slowest IPL fifty, while holding the innings together despite wickets falling at the other end.
“Vaibhav has been, I can’t really put it in words, there is one way where you just go and slog and get runs but he’s not blind slogging,” said Rajasthan skipper Riyan Parag.
“He calculates, he assesses conditions. He does everything and I still can’t figure out how. I just hope he keeps doing the same for the country and bringing the country laurels and keeps playing for us and gets us that second championship.”
Gujarat’s fast bowlers targeted Sooryavanshi with short balls and Rabada struck him on the helmet after an edge, but the batter continued after a concussion check.
He then accelerated with boundaries and sixes during a 58-run stand with Jadeja.
The pair added 73 for the third wicket after Gujarat pace bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Rabada made early breakthroughs.
Donovan Ferreira gave Rajasthan a late push with an unbeaten 38 off 11 balls, but the total was not enough for the 2008 champions.
Rabada and fellow fast bowler Jason Holder picked up two wickets each.
(With inputs from agencies)
