Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans, 52nd Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - CommentaryRR vs GT, 52nd Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

With the likes of Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler forming a formidable top order, backed by a potent pace unit featuring Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Jason Holder and Prasidh Krishna, the Gujarat Titans look like a side with every box ticked. Add Rashid Khan and his game-changing spin into the mix and GT appear perfectly placed to seal a playoff berth. More importantly, they seem to be peaking at just the right stage of the tournament. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Royals have seen their campaign lose momentum after an encouraging start. One side is gathering steam at the perfect time, while the other is beginning to fade, that’s the unpredictable rhythm of this tournament. The action continues tomorrow with a double-header as Chennai Super Kings face Lucknow Super Giants, followed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Mumbai Indians later in the evening. Goodbye till then!

Rashid Khan | Player of the Match (1/2): Quite happy (How happy are you compared to how things have gone compared to the last 2 seasons). Thanks to the Almighty! I think it was something very unusual for me last two seasons. Took nine wickets in the last season, but I feel like this year it’s more about just making sure you enjoy yourself and make sure your ball is hitting the right area consistently and I feel like last year I missed out on all that and this year it’s more consistent to bring in the line and length and so far so happy with that. (It's taken you a while to recover from the back surgery) Well, when I had the surgery, I took only two months to get back on field and that was something where I did hurry and that and I feel that time I made a huge mistake to be in the center that soon, but I had to come back for Afghanistan and play those games and I think last year when IPL was over, I had two, three months totally off and I tried my best to work on my fitness and most importantly, my back to be back and I think the rhythm I go through the crease, I think that was something I was missing and after that, I had a good time in the center and I had a good hundred ball competition and then just kept on.

Rashid Khan (2/2): (On the spell tonight) Yeah, the moment I bowled the first ball, I knew there is something for me and but it’s just about making sure you bowl and mix it up in the pace. Pace was something I was trying to mix it up and hit the right area consistently and don’t leave the stump. I feel like if I leave the stump, it becomes easier for the batter to take a single or hit for a boundary. But the most important part was for me that, yes, I wanna hit the length, but more important, is the line and it should be on those three stumps. Yeah, I had that in my mind (talking about Ferreira dismissal). I made that movie in my mind before that. I felt like if I pitch in the right area, there is some help and I can get that wicket. So as soon as it went from my hand, I knew it’s gonna come. It’s so good. We have that good connection (talking about working with fellow spinners). We have been together for a long time and it’s so important to have those players around you. You have some good days, bad days, but more importantly, you’re sharing that experience. They played a lot here in India. When I come here, I have that kind of a good conversation to bowl in different cities, in different grounds, how it’s going to be, and share my international experience with them as well. So I feel, something which I really loved about them is that they keep adding so many things in their bowling. You know, the modern cricket, the demand is to have more variation. And Sai Kishore especially, I feel like he’s someone who is working very hard on different skills. And he’s working on the wrong' un, which is I’m so excited to see him in future to bowl that in the games.

Shubman Gill | GT Captain: (Pleased with the way the team has been playing recently?) Yeah, definitely, even before this match, we had a conversation that till now I don’t think we had a perfect match. So very happy. I think this was a clean win for us. Definitely (would you say this was a perfect match?). I think we got above maybe 10-15 runs extra on the board. We thought there was a little bit in for the spinners in the middle. It wasn’t easy to hit sixes or get the boundaries. The ball was gripping a little bit. We got 230 runs on the board. We always knew, if we get a couple of wickets in the powerplay, we’re going to have a good game. Yeah, I mean, that’s what we thought as well (we thought 250 was on the cards). Let’s see, let’s keep trying to put the bowlers under pressure and see what score we get. But it wasn’t, like I said, it wasn’t easy to hit spinners through the line or at will. So we thought let’s keep the wickets in hand and try to bat deep. And I know there was a phase, I think, for about a couple of overs where we didn’t get the boundary in the 17th, 18th over. But I think we covered it well in the last over. (Using two spearheads right through the powerplay) We believe it’s important to hold the fort up front. That’s where the thought process comes from. We see if we take wickets up front, it always gives our bowlers a bit more chance in the middle overs to attack and then get even more wickets. Because the only way with the impact player and the kind of wickets that there are, the only way to contain the other team is if you keep picking up wickets. There is no other way. So that’s the thought process behind it. Always look to keep attacking and always look to keep taking the wickets. (Happy with how things are going?) Yeah, very happy. You know, now the next game is at home. Hopefully we’re going to have another good match. (On his ankle injury) I think I just, while taking the run, I think twisted my ankle a little bit. It was quite painful. But I think after half an hour or so, it settled down a bit.

Kagiso Rabada: I guess everyone’s just determined (talking about the bowling group). I’m determined myself. And everyone’s given a role. So it’s really simple, just do or try to perform your role to the best of your ability. It’s as simple as that. I guess what’s worked for 11 years will continue to work, right? (smiles, talking about his attitude bowling to Vaibhav) So I guess it’s just hedging your bets and hoping that it comes off. But there’s a whole lot of hard work that’s done behind the scenes. And then a bit of analysis to look at batter’s weaknesses. So there is that type of nuance in the game. But otherwise, it’s just the same old, same old. (On how his body feels) Yeah, body feels good. This is where the fatigue starts to set in, the mental fatigue too. So it’s just about trying to stay on top of that, make sure that you’re as fresh as possible. So that’s where the professional side of the game is needed a lot more, especially in the back end. But my body feels good and hopefully I can just continue what I’ve been doing. Not really (do you keep working on a lot of slower balls?). I feel like the more I try and work on too many slower balls, the more I neglect what I should be working on. But I haven’t bowled too many slower balls this season. But when they’re needed, then I’ll bowl them.

Yashasvi Jaiswal | RR Captain: (How tough was it when GT got off to such a good start) I think we were just thinking to bowl in good areas and they were batting pretty well. So we were just thinking how we can cut down the boundaries or big shots. So I think it was pretty good from them. No, it’s cricket (talking about Archer being off the radar today). We all know that there are some days where you are in, there are some days where you cannot bowl how you want to. But he’s been doing so well for us. So I think he’ll be coming back very strongly. No, I actually didn’t think that much (whether leaving out Burger was a tough decision). I had a simple plan, who is my bowler and who can give me some good overs in the powerplay. So nothing much from my end. Nothing much (What went wrong tonight?). I think we are going to look what we can do better and just look for the next game, what we can do and learn from this game.

Biggest win margins for GT (by runs)
77 vs RR, Jaipur, 2026*
62 vs MI, Ahmedabad, 2023 Q2
62 vs LSG, Pune, 2022
58 vs RR, Ahmedabad, 2025
56 vs LSG, Ahmedabad, 2023
55 vs MI, Ahmedabad, 2023

Biggest defeat margins for RR in IPL (by runs)
112 vs RCB, Jaipur, 2023
100 vs MI, Jaipur, 2025
86 vs KKR, Sharjah, 2021
77 vs GT, Jaipur, 2026*
75 vs RCB, Cape Town, 2009

RR have lost 7 of their 8 games in Jaipur since 2025.

GT have now won 7 out of 10 games against RR, including 3 wins in four games at Jaipur

23:06 Local Time, 17:36 GMT, 23:06 IST: A statement win for the Gujarat Titans as they have outclassed the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur and climb to the second spot on the points table. GT’s openers laid the perfect foundation with fluent half-centuries, setting the tempo right from the start. Handy late contributions from Washington Sundar and Rahul Tewatia then powered the visitors to a commanding 229. In reply, chasing such a massive target was always going to demand something special. Apart from an enterprising cameo from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rajasthan never really found momentum in the chase. Rashid Khan turned the game decisively with a brilliant four-wicket haul, ripping through the middle order as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Jason Holder too bowled an impactful spell as he picked up three wickets, and in the end, the Royals were comprehensively beaten by 77 runs. Stay around for the presentations..

Jason Holder to Tushar Deshpande, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Jason Holder to Dasun Shanaka, THATS OUT!! Caught!!