IPL 2026: Rajasthan Royals hold nerve in thrilling 6-run victory over Gujarat Titans

Ahmedabad: Pacer Tushar Deshpande's ice-cool final over and Ravi Bishnoi's stunning four-wicket haul powered Rajasthan Royals to a heart-stopping six-run victory over Gujarat Titans in an IPL 2026 encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.

Rajasthan, electing to bat after winning the toss, smashed 210/6 in 20 overs, fueled by half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal (55 off 36) and Dhruv Jurel (75 off 42, with 5 fours and 5 sixes). Openers Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi blazed to 69/0 in the powerplay before Rashid Khan dismissed Sooryavanshi (31 off 18). Jurel's death-overs fireworks, aided by Shimron Hetmyer's cameo, pushed them past 200 despite Kagiso Rabada's 2-42.

GT, missing captain Shubman Gill (muscle spasm), handed debutant Kumar Kushagra the opener's slot with Sai Sudharsan. They reached 56/0 in the powerplay, but Kushagra fell for 18 off 14 to Riyan Parag. Sudharsan anchored with a classy 73 off 44, but Bishnoi's leg-spin spell (4-41)—his best in the tournament—sparked a collapse, removing Sudharsan, Glenn Phillips, and Washington Sundar to leave GT at 133/5. Nandre Burger then nabbed Jos Buttler (26).

Rashid Khan and Rabada mounted a fierce fightback with a 43-run stand, slashing the target with Rabada's massive six and Rashid's boundaries. Needing 11 off the last over, RR captain Parag turned to Deshpande. The pacer held his nerve with pinpoint yorkers, conceding just 4 runs as Jofra Archer pouched Rashid in the deep—sealing GT's 204/8.

Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 210/6 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 75, Yashasvi Jaiswal 55; Kagiso Rabada 2-42) beat Gujarat Titans 204/8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 73, Jos Buttler 26; Ravi Bishnoi 4-41, Tushar Deshpande 1-24) by 6 runs.

(Inputs from IANS)