Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals, 9th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

A proper double-header Saturday. The first game tilted heavily in favour of Delhi Capitals, but the second one delivered a thriller. It had everything - momentum swings, pressure moments, and in the end, it was Rajasthan Royals who held their nerve and came out on top. This win will do wonders for Rajasthan’s confidence going forward, especially in tight situations - something that didn’t quite go their way last season. As for Gujarat Titans, there are positives to take. Even after losing 7 wickets and needing 50 late in the game, they still pushed it to the brink - not many teams manage that. That’s a wrap from us. Another double-header awaits tomorrow - Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Lucknow Super Giants, followed by the big one: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings. Until next time, goodbye and stay safe..

Ravi Bishnoi | Player of the Match (translated from Hindi): (on his prep for this season) Last season was a difficult one. But I tried to stick to my processes. I know that if I miss my length, I will get hit for sixes, that was my only weakness. I played the whole season, even for India and I tried to work on my lengths. If they hit me from my length, then I'm happy with that. Today also you saw when I went full, I got hit but not off a good length. So the plan was to hit a good length consistently. Mental, technical and physical adjustments were made. I put in a lot of physical effort as well, be it before the match or in the off-season or domestic - I have to play all the matches. (favorite wicket today?) All wickets were my favorite but it has to be Rahul bhai's as he is known to be a fine finisher. If he doesn't get out, match could've gone either way. (what this performance means to him?) I feel happy that the team won. More than my performance, the way Tushar bhai bowled at the end and Jofra in the 19th over. It matters a lot. It was a collective team effort and because of that we won. We are a young team and we will look to entertain like this going forward.

Riyan Parag | RR captain: "It was just incredible I think. I took a chance, thinking that let's just go full and fast. And the way the boys delivered, you can see as my voice is like cracking up, I was just shouting. I was just so excited over the fact they executed as they wanted, and it's just insane. (on having options to bowl the 19th and 20th over) I was actually going to switch up the order, so credit to Dhruv Jurel for that. He asked me to go Jofra on the 19th. So the plan was, because it was like a three-ball difference, it was 15 off 12. I just wanted to like take a chance, just go fast, as fast as possible, as aggressive as possible. If it comes out, it comes out and it looks really good. If it doesn't, I'll just be sad and go again next time. (on Jurel) Yeah, I think we've not done a lot of justice to the talent that he possesses. He's done the hard job. He's batted at six and seven. But now that we saw, we had an opportunity at number three, I was the first one to say he has got to bat number three and he just showed us why he can. So hopefully this is the start for him and he goes on to get like 700, 800 runs and wins us the championship. (on going two in two) Yeah, I mean, we are gonna celebrate tonight. Forget about it as soon as the sun comes up and then focus on Guwahati and what we can do against Mumbai."

Bishnoi’s spell (by lengths)
Good: 1/15, 9 balls, ER: 10
Back-of-a-length: 3/21, 15 balls, ER: 8.4
Short: 0/4, 1 ball, ER: 24

GT run-chase
Overs 1-6: 56/0 at 9.33 RPO
Overs 7-15: 105/7 at 11.66 RPO
Overs 16-20: 43/1 at 8.6 RPO

This was the 16th instance of a team losing seven wickets (or more) in Overs 7-15 in an IPL innings, all resulting in defeats.

GT batting second in the IPL
2022 & 2023: 18 matches, 14 wins, 4 defeats, W/L: 3.5
Since 2024: 16 matches, 8 wins, 8 defeats, W/L: 1

- The 43-run stand between Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada is the second-highest for 8th wicket or lower for GT in the IPL, behind 88* between Rashid and Alzarri Joseph vs MI at Wankhede in 2023 (which is also an all-time IPL record).

4-plus wicket hauls from 7th bowling position or lower in the IPL
5/18 - Wanindu Hasaranga (RCB) vs SRH, Mumbai WS, 2022
4/6 - Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers) vs MI, Centurion, 2009
4/29 - Paul Valthaty (PBKS) vs Deccan Chargers, Hyderabad, 2011
4/29 - Yuvraj Singh (PWI) vs DC, Mumbai DYP, 2011
4/37 - Yash Thakur (LSG) vs PBKS, Mohali, 2023
4/41 - Ravi Bishnoi (RR) vs GT, Ahmedabad, 2026

Jofra Archer: (on his catch to get Rashid in the last over) "Well, initially when he hit it, I thought it went for six, but you get an idea of the trajectory, so, I just ran and just hoped for the best and I just got there and it stayed in, that's all. (on his thoughts in the last over) Well, yeah, as a fellow bowler, you want to know that the fielders are backing you up. And honestly, all of the guys fielded exceptionally well today. You know, everything that could have gone right in the field went right for us and I'm very, very proud of the fielding unit today. (on the switch with Tushar for the 19th over) Well, I didn't take it from him. I guess Riyan changed his mind, but I think he was going to bowl the 19th and I was going to bowl the last one. But honestly, like, whoever bowls the 19th, their job is to give the person in the last as much as possible. (on his rhythm) I think it's alright. Practice and in the game can be two different things. So it's just adapting, every wicket that we go on is not going to be the same as well. So just being adaptable because one day we're going to have to bowl pace-on today and another wicket we're going to have to bowl pace-off. So, yeah, just being adaptable. (on the surface today) Yeah, the slower balls weren't staying in, so we had to go predominantly pace-on."

Rashid Khan | GT stand-in captain: "Well, I think, we bowled really well, especially the way they have started to restrict them under like, 210. I think it was a great effort on this wicket by the bowlers. And then we started really well with the bat as well. I felt we have given a great start with the openers. And then I felt in the 12th and 13th overs, we lost back-to-back wickets. That's something which really put us on the back foot. But I think, if they were there, it wasn't that hard to score, but I think in that period of time, we just lost the momentum of the game. Well, I feel, on the wicket like this, 9-10 per over, it's not that the hard job to be done. And I feel like we just, a little bit like you lose the momentum at that time to go harder and to keep it little bit for a longer period of time. And the boundaries were coming. I think on this wicket, boundaries were coming easily. And, but I think we just lost a few early quick wickets in that period of time, which just didn't allow us to go on and keep the momentum till the end. (on regrouping) Well, everyone have their own gameplan and they know the condition and situation really well. And then just to make sure that, you read the condition and the requirement of the game. Everything is written on the board. I feel like that makes the job pretty much easier, but it's too early, it's still in the competition. We learn from our mistakes, what we do and we keep getting better and come back stronger in the next game. (on the chat in the last over) Well, the discussion was clear, like, we just need to hit one boundary. And I feel like if we get there, I think we don't need much of the boundaries in that over. And I think Tushar bowled really well. He bowled some exceptional yorkers. Which didn't allow us to go on, but I feel that the one ball which he missed his line and length, I should have hit that for six. Like, you just need to stay calm and it's gonna be a long tournament and we learn from it and we come back stronger. (on Gill) He's good. Hopefully he's gonna be alright for the next game. He just had the muscle spasm, so hopefully he's gonna be alright soon."

A chase that never quite took off for Gujarat Titans despite a steady start. Gujarat began in measured fashion, with Sai Sudharsan keeping things ticking and Kumar Kushagra providing solid support. The opening stand of 78 laid the foundation, and Sudharsan went on to register his first fifty of the season. But his dismissal proved to be the turning point. Ravi Bishnoi took charge in the middle overs, dismantling the Titans’ chase with a superb 4-wicket haul. From a comfortable 127/2, Gujarat slipped dramatically to 161/7, losing control of the game. There was still a late twist. With 50 needed off the last five overs, Rashid and Rabada combined smartly, chipping away at the target and bringing it down to 15 off the last two overs. But Archer delivered a superb penultimate over to swing the momentum back, leaving Deshpande to defend 11 in the final over - a task he executed brilliantly. Back-to-back wins for Rajasthan Royals to start their campaign, while it’s consecutive defeats for Gujarat Titans. Presentations coming up..

23:26 Local Time, 17:56 GMT: Phew! What a game! The first real nail-biter of the season, and it’s Tushar Deshpande who walks away with the headlines. This is a massive win for Rajasthan Royals - precisely the kind of game they struggled to close out last season. But not today, not this year, and not under the leadership of Riyan Parag. Parag made the big call of handing Deshpande the final over with 11 to defend, and it turned out to be a masterstroke. Deshpande executed his yorkers to perfection, never allowing Rashid or Rabada the room to break free and snatch the game away. The emotions at the fall of Rashid and at the end of game showed how much this win means to Parag and rest of the Rajasthan Royals.

Tushar Deshpande to Rashid Khan, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

The Gujarat Titans dugout looks tense