IPL-2026: RR keep their cool, GT lose their way in Ahmedabad nail-biter

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bat first against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Rajasthan Royals clinched a thrilling six-run win over Gujarat Titans to record their second win in two games. The pulsating contest at the Narendra Modi Stadium was shaped by two excellent seventies from Dhruv Jurel and Sai Sudharsan, but the latter lacked enough support as Titans fell short in their first home game of IPL 2026. Tushar Deshpande held his nerve at the death, defending 11 in the final over to pull off a heist.

This was the kind of game Gujarat Titans routinely won in their title-winning 2022 season, and the sort Royals kept losing last year. Titans will look back at two decisive passages. At 127 for 2 in 12 overs, they were cruising, before losing 3 for 6 through the middle overs to stall the chase. Yet, when the game seemed gone, Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada revived hopes with a 43-run stand off 30 balls. From 11 off 6, it needed just one boundary to tilt the game.

Match in phases

Deshpande, though, nailed his yorkers under pressure. There was one opportunity – a slot ball to Rashid – but he sliced it to sweeper cover where Jofra Archer held on. A final-ball six could still have forced a tie, but Ashok Sharma failed to capitalise on a full toss, sealing a narrow Royals win.

Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 210/6 in 20 overs [Dhruv Jurel 75 (42), Yashasvi Jaiswal 55 (36); Kagiso Rabada 2-42] beat Gujarat Titans 204/8 in 20 overs [Sai Sudharsan 73 (44); Ravi Bishnoi 4-41, Tushar Deshpande 1-24] by 6 runs