Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2024 undefeated streak was stopped by Rashid Khan’s all-around performance, despite Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag’s valiant batting performances (68* off 38 and 76 off 48). At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Rashid sliced the final ball for a boundary to the backward point region, leading the Gujarat Titans to a three-wicket victory.
RR openers malfunction once more.
Having scored a century in his previous match against the Royals, Jos Buttler came into this game well-rested. However, both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Buttler left the field early, therefore the home club was left without an opener. Jaiswal started off with a barrage of boundaries after nearly getting chopped on by Umesh Yadav in the opening over. However, his innings was cut short in the fifth over when his attempted scoop against the bowler found the wicketkeeper’s gloves securely. Rashid edged a slash and had Buttler caught at slips in the next over. Royals were down to 42 for 2.
Samson and Parag take center stage.
Once more, the two reliable bats saved the day for the Royals. Wade dropped Parag twice, on 0 and 6, giving him an early green card. Rashid and Noor Ahmad posed a spin danger, but the pair held their own as RR was bowled out for 52/2 in 8.1 overs. At that moment, Parag let go and swept Noor over the mid-wicket boundary. After a few balls, Mohit Sharma failed to support a throw, which gave the Royals the much-needed momentum and five runs. The batsmen took some chances every over to keep the scoreboard ticking along at a respectable clip, even though they were generally cautious when facing the spinners. After hitting two slog sweeps off Noor in the thirteenth over, Parag reached his half-century in the following over by putting Mohit over the long on fence.
Up until that point, Samson was merely a supporting player, but in the next over, he struck two boundaries and a six off Spencer Johnson. Then, he used his scoops and reverse scoops; the results weren’t always ideal, but they were nonetheless useful. When Rahul Tewatia fell in the 17th over, the ball got past him and Samson scored a further half-century.
In the penultimate over, Parag was out of the game. He holied out to Vijay Shankar in the deep, where the fielder took a while to handle the catch, tumbling, lobbing the ball, and eventually removing it a few inches from the ropes. However, Samson and Parag’s 130-run partnership in 78 balls laid the groundwork for RR’s enormous score.
Shimron Hetmyer’s raw power in the final over, along with Umesh Yadav’s errant lengths and lines, let the Royals smash 196 for 3.
Sudharsan and Gill give a solid start.
Gujarat Titans had a reliable start thanks to their openers, in stark contrast to the Royals. Although they mostly used conservative strokeplay, the pair took advantage of any possibilities that presented themselves. Sai Sudharsan hit a boundary off Trent Boult’s delivery when the left-arm pacer offered some width, and he also hit Avesh Khan for six off the bowler’s misdirected short delivery. Conversely, Shubman Gill was a little more daring. He proceeded to Keshav Maharaj down the track and gave him a six-ball before taking advantage of Avesh’s full deliveries and pushing him to a couple of boundaries. They achieved 44 for no loss by the end of the powerplay.
In the eighth over, Yuzvendra Chahal made an easy return catch, giving Sudharsan a life at 32. However, the opener was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, as he was trapped leg before by Kuldeep Sen three runs later in the next over.
Kuldeep grabs the initiative
The pacer had dismissed Sudharsan and was on fire. He dismissed Matthew Wade and Abhinav Manohar in his subsequent over, causing GT to fall from 64/0 to 79/3. It was difficult to dismiss Ashwin and Maharaj during the middle overs. Although Chahal was likewise successful, he was frequently criticized for his actions. Though Titans had a good start, the spin three made sure they needed 85 runs in the final six overs with six wickets remaining.
A battle to the end
With 35 balls remaining to reach his fifty, Gill unleashed his fury on Ashwin and Chahal. He was perplexed just as he appeared ready to take on the target after Chahal’s wide delivery enticed him out of his crease and spun away from his arc. After landing a few hard knocks on Ashwin, Shahrukh Khan was leg before Avesh in the 18th over.
But Kuldeep’s wild final over turned the tide of the match, requiring the Titans to score 15 runs in the final over. Rashid and Rahul Tewatia combined to score 20 runs off of wides, a no ball, and low full-tosses converted for boundaries. To make matters worse, the Royals had one fewer fielder beyond the third yard circle and were five minutes late for the start of the last over. This is true even though they bowled half of their allotted overs with three spinners.
Rashid blasted the opening ball past the square leg region for a boundary with 15 runs needed from the final over. After two balls, he was able to get another four past the ‘keeper with a thick outside edge. GT needed two runs to win off the final balls when Tewatia was run out off the penultimate ball while trying to score a third run. Rashid scored a four after cutting it past the empty backward point area.
Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans 199/7 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 72, Sai Sudharsan 35; Kuldeep Sen 3-41, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-43) defeated Rajasthan Royals 196/3 in 20 overs (Riyan Parag 76, Sanju Samson 68*; Rashid Khan 1/18) by 3 wickets.
What comes next?
GT has until Wednesday of next week to relish this victory before playing the Delhi Capitals at home. With a slightly shorter turnaround time, RR will play PBKS on Saturday (April 13) in Mullanpur.
