IPL 2026: GT vs RR Highlights, Match 9 - Stats, Player of the Match & More
Dhruv Jurel (Source: X/@IPL)
Published - 04 Apr 2026, 09:56 PM• Read time - 6 mins
Match Overview
Gujarat Titans (GT) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) locked horns in the ninth match of IPL 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, April 4. RR captain Riyan Parag won the toss and elected to bat first. For GT, Shubman Gill did not take the field as the opener was suffering from muscle spasms in the neck. Rashid Khan stepped into his shoes for this match.
The left-handed RR opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi provided another solid start. Unlike the last time when it was the Sooryavanshi show only at the beginning, Jaiswal got off the blocks quickly too tonight. The duo took their team to the end of the powerplay with 69 runs on the board, but immediately afterwards the teenager was sent packing by Rashid Khan for 31(18).
Out came Dhruv Jurel and Jaiswal combined with him to form another substantial partnership. The southpaw, in the process, completed his 16th IPL fifty off 32 balls and looked like scoring big, but Kagiso Rabada knocked his off stump out of the ground soon after he reached his landmark. Meanwhile, Jurel was holding one end up and scoring boundaries regularly. The wicketkeeper-batter combined with Shimron Hetmyer (18 off 8) and the lower order to keep the Royals going.
RR were looking like getting to a big total courtesy of Jurel who reached his fifth IPL fifty in 30 balls and continued to hammer runs until the last over when he was out for 75(42). In the end, RR ended up at 210/6 as all the GT bowlers picked up at least a wicket each.
Just like RR, GT too had a great start to their innings. Sai Sudharsan was the aggressor and led the way for Kumar Kushagra who provided able support to the southpaw during their 78-run opening stand. After the departure of the youngster for 18(14), Buttler joined Sudharsan and the pair continued with the momentum. The Tamil Nadu left-hander was stroking the ball nicely and brought up his 13th IPL fifty in good time (33 balls).
GT were going along well with their chase being on track. But then, Ravi Bishnoi changed the whole complexion of the innings starting with Sudharsan's wicket in the 11th over for a well-made 73(44). Two overs later, the leg spinner dismissed both Glenn Phillips (3 off 4) and Washington Sundar (4 off 2) in the space of two balls as GT started to lose their way.
It became even worse for them as Buttler too departed soon after with the scoreboard now reading 133/5 after 13.1 overs. The onus now fell on the lower order who made a good game out of it. In the end, it was Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada who almost took the team home with their 43-run 30-ball stand for the eighth wicket. What prevented them from achieving victory though were the brilliant last two overs from Jofra Archer and Tushar Deshpande, respectively. Eventually, RR sealed the win by six runs only.
Top run-scorer of the match
|
Player |
Team |
Runs |
Balls |
Fours |
Sixes |
Strike Rate |
| Dhruv Jurel |
RR |
75 |
42 |
5 |
5 |
178.57 |
Top wicket-taker of the match
|
Player |
Team |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wickets |
Economy |
| Ravi Bishnoi |
RR |
4 |
0 |
41 |
4 |
10.25 |
Player of the Match
Ravi Bishnoi
Bishnoi was the game-changer tonight with his four-wicket haul. The leg spinner brought a much-needed breakthrough for his team when Sudharsan and Buttler were going comfortably. The wicket of the southpaw was critical at that moment for RR and the 25-year-old did not stop there as he scalped three more big wickets of Phillips, Sundar, and Rahul Tewatia.
Turning Point
The game saw a number of twists and turns, but the most important of them all came in the last two overs. With 15 needed, Archer bowled the penultimate over and conceded only four runs. Tushar Deshpande came on to bowl the last over and the right-armer had 10 runs to defend which he did with accurate yorkers. Deshpande too gave away only four runs and also picked up a wicket of Rashid Khan off the penultimate ball which effectively sealed the deal.
What the captains said
Winning Team Captain, Riyan Parag (RR)
"(On the last two overs) It was just incredible. Took a chance - to go full and fast, and the boys delivered. I was so excited they executed the way they wanted. (On why Jofra bowled the 19th) I was actually going to switch the order but credit to Jurel - he asked me to go with Jofra for the 19th. Wanted to go as fast as possible and as straight as possible (for the final two overs). He (Jurel) has done the hard job. He has batted at 6 and 7. Now that there is an opportunity, I was the first one to say he has to bat at three. Hopefully he can score 700-800 runs and win us the championship."
Losing Team Captain, Rashid Khan (GT)
"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. (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."
