Rajasthan Royals (RR) secured a thrilling six-run triumph against Gujarat Titans (GT) during their IPL 2026 encounter in Ahmedabad on Saturday. RR skipper Riyan Parag elected to bat first, with his side accumulating 210/6 across 20 overs, driven by Dhruv Jurel’s impressive 75 from 42 deliveries and Yashasvi Jaiwal’s contribution of 55 from 36 balls. GT proceeded without their regular leader Shubman Gill, who was sidelined due to muscle spasm, though Sai Sudharsan’s stellar 73 from 44 balls maintained their competitiveness. Nevertheless, RR’s spin bowler Ravi Bishnoi initiated a devastating collapse by claiming four wickets during the middle phase, reducing GT to 161/7. Despite a spirited recovery attempt by Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan, they could not secure victory for their team. Rajasthan Royals maintain their perfect record with two victories from two matches in IPL 2026, whereas Gujarat Titans remain winless this season. Rajasthan Royals Clinched a Win Over Gujarat Titans in a Close Thriller Game .
TOSS-
Rajasthan Royals secured the toss and elected to bat first.
PLAYING XI-
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI):
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI):
Kumar Kushagra, Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan(c), Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
RAJASTHAN ROYALS-
Vaibhav continued to impress with an explosive 18-ball 31 that established early momentum, featuring a spectacular upper-cut six against a 149 kph delivery from Ashok Sharma. On this occasion, however, his opening partner shared the spotlight equally.
Yashasvi Jaiswal mirrored his aggression and boldness, demonstrating excellent timing while striking cleanly through mid-on and mid-off. The Titans contributed to their own difficulties as Mohammed Siraj lacked precision, while fielders dropped crucial chances and missed run-out possibilities. RR capitalized ruthlessly on these errors. The opening pair accumulated 69 runs during the Powerplay, extending their partnership statistics to 567 runs across nine innings, maintaining an average of 63 with a strike rate of 11.97.
Rashid terminated the opening partnership immediately following the Powerplay, removing Sooryavanshi and assisting Titans in bowling four economical overs that produced merely 30 runs. Jurel was compelled to reconstruct the innings, managing just 11 from 12 deliveries before discovering his timing with boundaries against Rashid. Siraj’s difficulties persisted as he conceded another 15 runs in his return over, though Royals lost impetus when Jaiswal departed for 55 from 36 balls, bowled by Rabada while attempting to create room.
Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer each commenced with maximums but failed to establish themselves, leaving Jurel to stabilize and accelerate the scoring. He executed both roles effectively. Following five boundaries and five sixes, he concluded with a strike rate of 178.57, propelling Royals to 210.
GUJARAT TITANS-
Kumar Kushagra, deputizing for Gill, provided stability rather than brilliance during his 18-run Titans debut, contributing meaningfully to a 78-run opening partnership dominated by Sai Sudharsan.
Sudharsan displayed fluency from the outset, commencing his innings with a slash over third man against Jofra Archer. Archer conceded 25 runs across his initial two overs as Titans reached 56 during the Powerplay. He maintained this momentum throughout his innings. A late cut against Ravindra Jadeja proved particularly noteworthy, while he successfully targeted Riyan Parag and Nandre Burger en route to his seventh half-century in Ahmedabad. At 103 for 1, Titans appeared comfortably positioned.
Introduced during the 11th over, he struck immediately with his fourth delivery, dismissing Sudharsan via googly. His subsequent over proved devastating as he removed Glenn Phillips and Washington Sundar, initiating a dramatic collapse. When Jos Buttler top-edged a pull shot shortly thereafter, Titans had deteriorated to 133 for 5. Rahul Tewatia mounted a brief counterattack, but Bishnoi returned to complete his four-wicket haul (4 for 31), achieving his maiden IPL four-wicket performance.
At 161 for 7, the chase appeared virtually concluded. Rashid and Rabada provided renewed hope, though Deshpande delivered the decisive contributions.
Having reached 127 for 2 after 12 overs while proceeding smoothly, they subsequently lost 3 wickets for 6 runs during the middle phase, severely hampering their pursuit. Nevertheless, when victory seemed impossible, Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada rekindled optimism through a 43-run partnership spanning 30 deliveries.
Requiring 11 runs from 6 balls, a single boundary would have dramatically altered the equation. Deshpande, however, executed precise yorkers under intense pressure. One scoring opportunity emerged—a slot delivery to Rashid—but he guided it to sweeper cover where Jofra Archer completed the catch. A final-ball six could have forced a tie, but Ashok Sharma failed to capitalize on a full delivery, confirming a narrow Royals victory.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 210/6 in 20 overs [Dhruv Jurel 75 (42), Yashasvi Jaiswal 55 (36); Kagiso Rabada 2-42] defeated Gujarat Titans 204/8 in 20 overs [Sai Sudharsan 73 (44); Ravi Bishnoi 4-41, Tushar Deshpande 1-24] by 6 runs.
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