Gujarat Titans register their fourth win on the trot

The result was decided as soon as Hetmyer fell. But RR dragged their innings till the last over but they could reduce the margin of defeat. They were all out for 159 and lost by 58. Sai Kishore picked up the last two wickets to finish with 2 for 20.

This was GT's fourth win in a row. With eight points from five games, they are now on the top of the points table. Apart from their convincing win, Rashid's returns with the ball will also please them. He is still not at his best but after just one wicket from the first four games, he picked up 2 for 37 here. Everything is looking rosy for GT at the moment.

R Sai Kishore has been among the best spinners this season, even overshadowing Rashid Khan. Then why was he introduced into the attack only in the 15th over?

There could be a couple of reasons behind that. It's a red-soil pitch with plenty in it for the seamers. Khejroliya was able to move the ball even after the powerplay. Another reason is Sai Kishore's record against left-hand batters. Before tonight, he had gone for 9.92 per over against them in the IPL. Against right-hand batters, he leaks only 7.43 per over.

He starts around the wicket against Hetmyer, angling the ball away. He almost had Hetmyer caught at deep cover but Arshad almost overran the ball and dropped it. Two balls later, Hetmyer hit him over long-on for a six.

From the other end, Prasidh gets Archer with a short ball. Three balls later, he dashes whatever little hope RR had as Hetmyer pulls one into the hands of Sai Kishore at fine leg. Hetmyer punches his helmet in disappointment twice on his way back.

RR are unravelling rather quickly here. Rashid may not have looked at his best this season but he is too good for Dubey. The batter had survived the lbw appeal on the previous ball but this time there is no escape. He misses a leg break and is pinged on the front pad, right in front of the stumps. Even a review cannot save him.

Jofra Archer is the new batter. Hetmyer is still at the other end. But things are looking bleak for RR.

Prasidh Krishna has been the pick of the bowlers for GT and he does the trick for them once more. It was a short ball around off. Samson went airborne to steer it behind point. Instead, he ended up guiding it into the hands of Sai Kishore at short third. Samson falls for 41 off 28.

Shubham Dubey, the Impact Player, is the new batter. He has replaced Fazalhaq Farooqi.

RR 119/5 after 13. Their target is still 99 runs away.

After that unsuccessful lbw appeal, Hetmyer has had the upper hand against Rashid. He hits him for yet another six, this time over the bowler's head. Rashid shortened his length but ended up bowling too short. Hetmyer duly pulled it away for four.

In all, Hetmyer has hit Rashid for 21 runs off ten balls.

Overs seven, eight and nine produced just 17 runs but Samson and Hetmyer have put RR back on track by looting 27 off the next two.

Hetmyer started the tenth over by launching Rashid over long-on. In the next, he hit Khejroliya for a four before Samson hit a six and a four to end the over.

Coming into this game, Rashid Khan had just one wicket in four games. But here he has struck in his very first over. It was a short-ish delivery that didn't bounce as much as Dhruv Jurel expected. He still went for the pull but didn't get the required elevation. Sai Sudharsan took a good, low catch diving forward at deep midwicket.

Rashid enjoys a favourable match-up against Shimron Hetmyer, who is in the middle as early as the eighth over. He has dismissed Hetmyer six times in 63 balls for 79 runs across all T20 cricket. Here, too, he seemed to have got him, lbw. But replay showed the ball had pitched fractionally outside leg stump, and they didn't bother checking further.

Khejroliya concedes just five singles in the following over.

Parag bookended the sixth over, bowled by Prasidh Krishna, for a six and a four. That took RR to 57 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. But Khejroliya sent back Parag in the very next over. It was a full ball outside off. Parag tried to squeeze it out and there was some noise as the ball went past the bat, and into the hands of the keeper eventually.

The RR players went up in an appeal and the umpire raised his finger. Parag was quick to review it. Replay showed a spike and the third umpire ruled it out. But as the ball was next to the bat, the bat had hit the ground. But was there an edge too? The third umpire thought so, Parag did not. He even had a chat with the on-field umpires after the decision was made. Clearly, he wasn't happy.

It was a streaky four to start with. Samson went after a wide delivery from Arshad and the outside edge just about cleared short third. There was no if or but about the next boundary, though, as Samson swatted a length ball over covers for a six. He ended the over with a punched four.

In the next over, Parag whipped Siraj once again, this time over long-on. A single later, Samson finally faced Siraj. The first two balls were almost yorkers that Samson kept out. Siraj aimed for the yorker once again but this time ended up bowling a juicy full toss on the pads. Samson duly hit it over midwicket.

Siraj ended the over with a quick bouncer and a stare but it quickly turned into a smile.

Samson didn't face a single ball in the nine-ball opening over from Siraj but Arshad Khan took out Yashasvi Jaiswal from the other end. Jaiswal slashed hard at a wide delivery only to hit it down the throat of Rashid Khan at deep third.

In the next over, Nitish Rana tried to upper-cut Siraj, but he too ended up guiding it to deep third. Khejroliya took the catch this time. Siraj had two slips for the new batter, Riyan Parag. After two dots, Parag whipped him away for a six.

Samson yet to face Siraj.

After conceding 54 from his four wicketless overs against Punjab Kings, Mohammed Siraj have found his rhythm. He took 2 for 34 against Mumbai Indians, 3 for 19 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and 4 for 17 against Sunrisers Hyderabad - that's nine wickets at an economy of 5.8.

GT will be hoping for a similar performance and an early wicket of Sanju Samson, whom Siraj has dismissed three times in 31 balls for just 36 runs.

Meanwhile, Kulwant Khejroliya has come in as Impact Player for Rutherford.

Rahul Tewatia has hardly batted this season but he shows his importance with yet another cameo. With Arshad Khan at the other end, he kept the strike for the last over. Taking advantage of the over-rate penalty, he hit Sandeep for two fours and a six.

GT end with 217 for 6. Will it be enough? Sai Sudharsan thinks so as there's not much dew till now.

He was dropped on 81, by Shubham Dubey off Archer in the 18th over. But Deshpande has him caught behind for 82. Deshpande bowled it in the blockhole and Sai Sudharsan, trying to dig it out, edged it behind the stumps. Samson completed a tumbling catch.

Rashid Khan takes GT past 200, though. The first two legal balls he faces, he hit for a six and a four. For the last ball of the 19th over, he moves across and whips it towards square leg where Jaiswal dives to his right to take an excellent catch.

Generally, the longer Sai Sudharsan stays at the crease, the higher his strike rate goes. Tonight he attacked right from the start and isn't stopping. After Sandeep dismissed Rutherford, he carted him for a six and a four off successive deliveries. He has moved to 80, his highest score this season, off 49 balls.

In the 14th over, Shahrukh hit Theekshana for 6, 4, 4 off successive balls but Theekshana has had the last laugh. In his next over, the spinner bowled one wide outside off. Shahrukh was jumping out of his crease and couldn't reach the ball. Samson, who had missed a stumping of Sai Sudharsan earlier in the over, made no mistake this time.

Sherfane Rutherford shows again that he needs no sighters and launches his first ball for a huge six over long-on. But Sandeep Sharma sends him back in the next over. The batter reaches out for a wide delivery only to edge it behind.

After overs 9, 10 and 11 produced just 21 runs, it looked like RR had everything under control. But Shahrukh Khan injected some momentum into the innings. His first four off Farooqi came via an inside edge but next once was clipped away nicely. In the next over, he smashed Deshpande over wide long-off for a flat six.

In between, Sai Sudharsan too picked up a boundary.

Sai Sudharsan brings up his third fifty of the season; he also has a 49 to his name. It took him 32 balls to get there. But two balls later, Theekshana has Buttler lbw. It was given not out by the on-field umpire but RR got the decision overturned on review.

Buttler made 36 off 25 balls and added 80 off 47 with Sai Sudharsan.

Buttler was on 12 off 13 but then Farooqi bowled a slower ball. Buttler moved across and lapped it between the keeper and short fine leg. Farooqi went short for the next ball, only for Buttler to pull it to the square leg boundary.

In the next over, he went back to Theekshana and cut him through the off side before hitting him over his head for another boundary. He is now on 31 off 19.

Sai Sudharsan is making the most of his sublime form. In the fourth over, he ramped Farooqi for a six. In the fifth, with Archer removed from the attack, he first scooped Tushar Deshpande for six more. On the next legal delivery, he drove him down the ground for four and later cut him for another four. In all, 18 came from the Deshpande over, taking GT to 49 for 1 after five.

Fazalhaq Farooqi also started with a quiet over, conceding only seven before it's back to Archer.

Coming into this match, Archer had a favourable match-up against Gill, dismissing him twice in 13 balls while giving away only nine runs.

With his first ball of the second over, he snared Gill yet again. It was full and just outside off stump. Gill went for the drive, leaving a big gap between bat and pad. The ball moved in and went through that gap to peg back off stump. The speed? 147.7kph. The updated match-up: 15 balls, ten runs, three dismissals.

Archer had two slips, a short leg and a catching square leg for Jos Buttler, and welcomed him with a nasty bouncer. Buttler took evasive action. Two balls later, he pushed Archer through covers for four.

Jofra Archer didn't have a great start to IPL 2025. In the first two games, he conceded 109 from 6.3 wicketless overs. But in the next two, he bounced back with a combined 4 for 38 from seven overs. He has started in the same manner tonight as well.

After conceding just three from his first five balls, he hurled one short at Sai Sudharsan, at 152.3kph. Sudharsan went for the pull and, luckily for him, the top edge sailed over the keeper's head.

Just when we thought Washington Sundar had nailed his spot, GT have left him out of their bat-first XI. I don't know how to explain it. Only in the last game he scored 49 off 29 balls after coming in at 16 for 2.

He is one of the five Impact Player options, which means he can still come in, but this is a strange call.

Apart from that, there are only three overseas players in GT's XI, and none on the Impact Players list. That means Glenn Phillips, who hurt himself in the field last game, cannot field as a substitute.

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bowl against Gujarat Titans. Dew later in the match is the reason behind this.

"We have got some momentum going and we will like to carry it forward," Samson says. "Wanindu Hasaranga misses out because of personal reasons. Farooqi comes in."

Gill says he, too, wanted to bowl first because there has been plenty of dew. "Yes, there has been talk of the middle order not getting enough balls but as long as our top three or four are getting the job done, we are happy. No changes for us."

PS: There is a late change for GT. Ishant Sharma, who was originally named in the bat-first XI, has been replaced by Arshad Khan. Kulwant Khejroliya is part of the Impact Players list.

Here are the XIs:

Gujarat Titans: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Sai Kishore, 9 Mohammed Siraj, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Arshad Khan

Impact Player options: Washington Sundar, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat, Nishant Sindhu, Mahipal Lomror

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Jofra Archer, 8 Maheesh Theekshana, 9 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Tushar Deshpande

Impact Player options: Kumar Kartikeya, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh, Akash Madhwal, Kunal Singh Rathore

Tonight's game is being played on pitch No. 7, a red-soil surface. So expect some pace and bounce. There's a bit of grass, too. The outfield, Pommie Mbangwa says, is as smooth as a billiard table.

One square boundary is much shorter, 60 metres, as compared to the other, 71 metres. The straight boundary is 73 metres.

One concern for GT at the moment is Rashid Khan's form. He has picked up just one wicket in four games and have gone for 10.21 runs per over.

He has been bowling a lot fuller - something that doesn't seem to be working. But don't bet against him to bounce back. Alagappan Muthu has got more here.

Jos Buttler was the face of RR for seven years. During that time, he was their leading run-getter with 3055 runs in 83 games at an average of 41.84 and a strike rate of 147.79. But RR let him go ahead of the 2025 auction.

Tonight, he will be playing against his former side. He is a new role as well, coming at No. 3, and seems to have adapted well to it. So far, he has scored 166 in four innings, at an average of 55.33 and a strike rate of 167.67.

Can he help GT bring down his former side?