Jurel's 75, Bishnoi's Four-For and Deshpande's Yorkers: Rajasthan Royals Win a Classic in Ahmedabad

A Dhruv Jurel half-century, a Ravi Bishnoi four-wicket haul, and a final over of ice-cold precision from Tushar Deshpande — Rajasthan Royals had all three go their way on Saturday as they beat Gujarat Titans by six runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, making it two wins from two in IPL 2026.

Royals Set the Stage: Jurel and Jaiswal Power 210

Riyan Parag won the toss and chose to bat — correctly, as it turned out. With Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal forming one of the most destructive opening pairs in the tournament, the first six overs were always going to be eventful.

Sooryavanshi set the tone immediately with a series of boundaries against Kagiso Rabada, including a last-second adjustment off a short ball from Ashok Sharma that he cut uppishly for six. The 70-run opening stand came off just 6.2 overs. Rashid Khan ended Sooryavanshi’s cameo of 31 off 18 balls, but by then the damage was done.

Jaiswal then put on 56 with the incoming Jurel for the second wicket, making 55 off 36 balls before falling in the 13th over. It was Jurel who provided the innings its real backbone.

Batting at No. 3, the wicketkeeper-batter from Agra combined classical shot selection with late-innings brutality in a way that is becoming his defining quality as a white-ball batter. His 75 off 42 balls included five fours and five sixes — a pick-up pull off Ashok Sharma after completing his fifty was the shot of the innings, a pull to deep midwicket that cleared the rope with contemptuous ease. A dancing down the track six off Rashid Khan in the death underlined his intent.

GT’s fast bowlers — Siraj, Rabada, Prasidh Krishna and debutant Ashok Sharma — extracted excellent pace and bounce from the surface, but RR’s batters used it against them, feeding off the extra pace to score freely. Ashok Sharma, only in his second IPL game, clocked 154.2 kmph and consistently bowled above 145 kmph, finishing 1/37 off four overs.

RR finished 210/6 in their 20 overs.

Sudharsan Gives GT Hope — But Bishnoi Ruins the Middle

GT came out for the chase without their captain. Shubman Gill had been ruled out at the toss with a muscle spasm, with Kumar Kushagra replacing him. Sai Sudharsan and Kushagra put on 78 for the first wicket — Sudharsan doing most of the heavy lifting with a masterclass in T20 batting.

His 73 off 44 balls was everything GT needed it to be — composed, classically struck, and covering the ground with an authority that belied the pressure of a 211-run chase. Three sixes and nine boundaries came in a knock that featured not a hint of a mistimed ball. GT were 107 for 1 and in command.

Then Ravi Bishnoi entered the equation.

The Royals leg-spinner had been brought back into the side after being rested for the CSK game, and he responded with the most influential bowling performance of the match. A half-tracker that Sudharsan inexplicably miscued was the trigger — from the moment he was caught off Bishnoi, GT lost their way entirely.

From 107 for 1, GT collapsed to 133 for 5. Then 161 for 7. Bishnoi’s variations, his changes of length, and his ability to tie good batters in knots proved too much for a middle order that had no momentum to work from. He finished with 4/41.

The Last-Over Miracle That Nearly Wasn’t

What happened next was extraordinary. At 161 for 7, the match appeared over. RR were cruising. But Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada had other ideas — they launched a devastating counter-attack, adding 43 runs at a rate of almost 200. With three overs left, GT were back in the game.

Jofra Archer, bowling the 19th on Dhruv Jurel’s tactical advice to his captain, gave away only five runs, leaving GT needing 10 off the last over. Deshpande’s final over was a yorker clinic — nearly every ball hit the blockhole or the wide-yorker channel. Four runs came in six deliveries, and the decisive ball was a full delivery that Rashid sent high towards deep cover — Jofra Archer sprinting from his boundary position and diving to complete the catch.

RR won by six runs. GT finished 204/8.

Match Scorecard

Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 6 runs.

The Bigger Picture

Rajasthan are now top of the IPL 2026 points table with two wins and an NRR of +2.233. For GT, this is the first time in their history they have lost the opening two matches. The franchise’s next match is against Delhi Capitals on April 8 — and the return of Shubman Gill will be the most critical thing between now and then.

One note of genuine excitement from the GT camp: Ashok Sharma, still early in his IPL career, has the raw pace to be something special. At 154 kmph in only his second IPL appearance, the similarities to Mayank Yadav’s emergence are hard to ignore — and GT’s support staff will need to handle that carefully.