Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 5 : Gujarat Titans (GT) stand-in captain Rashid Khan rued the team losing back-to-back wickets after they lost their second consecutive Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match in what was a thrilling encounter against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday.
Despite a valiant effort from GT's Sai Sudharsan (73 runs) and a late surge from the Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada with the bat, RR spinner Ravi Bishnoi's four-wicket haul proved to be the difference. The match went down to the wire as GT required 11 runs in the final over, but RR's Tushar Deshpande kept his cool and only conceded four runs and also took the wicket of Rashid (24 runs off 16 balls), who combined for a 43-run partnership with Rabada (unbeaten 23 off 16 balls).
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rashid, who stood in for designated captain Shubman Gill as the latter missed out due to a muscle spasm, said the Gujarat Titans performed well with both bat and ball initially, but losing quick wickets in the middle overs cost them momentum, ultimately affecting their ability to finish the chase. Notably, GT lost Glenn Phillips (3), Washington Sundar (4), Rahul Tewatia (12) and Shaheukh Khan (11) in quick succession during their chase.
"We bowled really well, especially after the way they started. We started well with the bat as well. Then, we lost back-to-back wickets and that put us on the back foot. That period of time, we lost the momentum. On a wicket like this, 9-10 per over is not a hard job. The boundaries were coming. We just lost few quick wickets in that period and that did not allow us to keep momentum till the end," he said.
Rashid said the middle order must adapt better to match situations and learn from mistakes. He admitted Tushar Deshpande bowled well in the final over and felt he could have capitalised on a loose delivery. He remained optimistic about improvement and expressed hope that Shubman Gill would recover in time for the next game.
"Everyone has their own game plan. Just to make sure you read the conditions and requirement of the game. Too early, we will learn from our mistakes and come back stronger. (Final over discussions) The discussion was we just needed to hit one boundary. Tushar bowled some exceptional yorkers. But the one ball he missed, I should have hit that for six. Just need to stay calm. It is going to be a long tournament. We learn from it and come back stronger. (On Gill's injury) Hopefully, he will be alright for the next game," Rashid said.
Coming to the match, chasing 211 runs, the Gujarat Titans sent out Kumar Kushagra alongside Sai Sudharsan. The pair showed promise early on as Sudharsan found boundaries with ease, scoring 73 off 44 balls. He anchored the innings, keeping the required rate within reach while hitting 9 fours and 3 sixes. The opening pair scored 78 runs before Kushagra lost his wicket for 18.
Sudharsan lost his wicket soon as Ravi Bishnoi grabbed his first for the day.
Jos Buttler (26 off 14 runs) stuck around for a while, but Nandre Burger (1/29 in 3 overs) claimed his wicket. Glenn Phillips (3), Washington Sundar (4), Rahul Tewatia (12) and Shaheukh Khan (11) couldn't contribute much as GT found themselves struggling at 161/7 in 14.5 overs.
For RR, Ravi Bishnoi was the wrecker-in-chief as he claimed three more wickets after Sudharsan's. Introduced as an Impact Player, Bishnoi tore through the GT middle order, finishing with remarkable figures of 4 for 41 in 4 overs. He got rid of Phillips, Sundar and Tewatia, breaking the back of GT's middle order.
Rashid and Rabada provided resistance with their 43-run partnership, but Deshpande's final over proved key as RR clinched a nailbiting six-run win.
With the win, RR now sit atop the IPL 2026 points table with four points in their two matches so far and a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +2.233. For GT, on the other hand, it marked their second consecutive loss and also the first time they faced defeats in the first two matches of the IPL season.
Earlier in the match, Batting first, the Royals got off to a fantastic start after their openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, took the side to 32/0 in three overs.
The runs continued to flow in the next three overs, as the inaugural champions ended their power play at 69/0. In the very next over, stand-in captain Rashid Khan removed dangerous Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old departed after playing a brisk knock of 31 off 18 balls, with five fours and one six.
After the end of 10 overs, the Royals reached a commanding position at 97/1. During the second ball of the 12th over of Mohammad Siraj, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal reached his half-century in 32 balls.
However, Jaiswal's knock was cut-short immediately in the very next over of ace speedster Kagiso Rabada. The right-arm pacer removed the Royals opener for 55 runs in 36 balls, with three towering sixes and six fours.
During the second ball of the 14th over, pacer Prasidh Krishna then removed Kumar Kushagra for just eight runs. After the end of the 15th over, the 2008 champions reached 160/3.
In the following over, speedster Ashok Sharma took the wicket of left-handed batter Shimron Hetmyer, who scored 8-ball 18, including two sixes and one four.
During the first ball of the 17th over, Kagiso Rabada scalped the wicket of Donovan Ferreira (1), and on the fourth delivery of the same over, wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel completed his half-century in 29 balls, as the Royals reached 177/5.
Towards the end, Jurel was dismissed in the 20th over against Mohammed Siraj. The wicketkeeper-batter hammered 75 runs off 42 deliveries, including five fours and five sixes that helped the Royals post a challenging score of 210/6.
For Gujarat, Kagiso Rabada (2/42) scalped two wickets. Mohammed Siraj, Ashok Sharma, Prasidh Krishna and stand-in skipper Rashid Khan took one wicket each.