Ravichandran Ashwin had no hesitation while predicting that the Gujarat Titans (GT) would beat the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Friday, May 29.

The former India off-spinner went on to mention that if the Shubman Gill-led side heads into the final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Ahmedabad on Sunday, they will emerge as champions. Ashwin believes that Gujarat's knowledge of the conditions at the Narendra Modi Stadium would give them a massive edge over the defending champions.

While Ashwin stated that the Vaibhav Suryavanshi factor could turn things in favour of the Royals on Friday, he backed the Titans to eventually get the win.

"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 in a video on his YouTube channel.

"The truth is RR should beat GT in Qualifier 2 in terms of analysis. Yet, GT will win. Vaibhav Suryavanshi 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," he added.

The Titans made an interesting decision in Qualifier 2 as they dropped Arshad Khan and played Kulwant Khejroliya. However, the move backfired as the ex-RCB pacer conceded 31 runs in two overs.

"GT should drop Kulwant Khejroliya and replace him with Ashok Sharma or Arshad Khan. But they shouldn't drop Nishant Sindhu," he said (via the aforementioned source).