In a nail-biting match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, the Rajasthan Royals defeated the Gujarat Titans by a thrilling six runs thanks to a spectacular last over from pacer Tushar Deshpande.
Riding on excellent half-centuries from Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rajasthan scored a respectable 210/6 in 20 overs after choosing to bat first. Sai Sudharsan’s superb innings led Gujarat’s chase, but the hosts narrowly missed out despite a late push from Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada.
During the Power-play, Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi exerted pressure on the Gujarat bowlers, propelling Rajasthan, who had won the toss and opted to bat, to a strong start. Jaiswal was hitting well through the off side as the pair raced to 69/0 in six overs. In the end, Rashid knocked off Sooryavanshi for a quick 31 off 18 deliveries, breaking the stand.
Before being caught by Rabada for 55 runs off 36 balls, Jaiswal maintained the momentum and reached a well-timed fifty.
With a few wickets falling, Rajasthan momentarily lost steam, but Jurel made sure the innings kept moving forward.
With five fours and five sixes, the wicketkeeper-batsman hit 75 off 42 balls in the closing overs, having paced his innings well. Rajasthan’s score exceeded 200 thanks to cameos from Shimron Hetmyer and the middle-order hitters.
As Kumar Kushagra made his debut and started the innings with Sudharsan, GT were without their usual captain, Shubman Gill, who was sidelined for the game due to a muscular spasm.
The pair established a solid start, reaching 56 without loss in the power play, while they were chasing 211. Sudharsan appeared to be in great form, hitting the ball cleanly against both speed and spin. The opening stand came to an end when Kushagra was caught at long-on by Riyan Parag after scoring a useful 18 off 14 deliveries.
Gujarat was still well behind, thanks to Sudharsan’s continued domination and smooth half-century. With a brilliant four-wicket haul that gave him his best stats of the competition, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi led Rajasthan to fight back and flip the game. Sudharsan’s magnificent 73 off 44 balls saw him eliminate the threat of Bishnoi before quickly taking out Washington Sundar and Glenn Phillips.
Gujarat went from a commanding position to 133/5 as wickets continued to fall, and the heat increased as Jos Buttler was caught by Nandre Burger.
Rashid and Rabada launched a surprising counterattack at the moment when Rajasthan seemed to have the upper hand. With aggressive hitting, the pair, who shared a 43-run partnership, scored quick runs, including a massive six from Rabada and a few astute boundaries from Rashid, which drastically changed the game.
RR captain Parag gave Deshpande the responsibility of getting the 11 runs that were needed in the last over. The pacer performed admirably under extreme pressure, consistently hitting his yorkers and keeping the batsmen at bay.
The turning point occurred when Rashid tried a long shot but was intercepted by Jofra Archer in the deep, giving Gujarat an excessive amount to accomplish.
In the end, what was the first nail-biter of the season came down to Deshpande, who only allowed four runs in the last over to give Rajasthan an exciting victory.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 210/6 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 75, Yashasvi Jaiswal 55; Kagiso Rabada 2-42)
Gujarat Titans 204/8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 73, Jos Buttler 26; Ravi Bishnoi 4-41, Tushar Deshpande 1-24)