GT vs RR highlights, IPL 2025: Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 58 runs in Ahmedabad

The Titans are looking quite dominant this season. Last year in the absence of Hardik they did look a bit flustered however, this year they seem to have constructed a good side that can compete against anyone and so far the players to have played quite well especially the bowlers.

ai Kishore has picked up Tushar Deshpande it has gone down quickly for the Royals since the wicket of Samson. If not for a half-century from Hetmeyar things would have looked even more worse. Also, credit must be given to how Gill has captained his bowlers in this game it has been top-class.

Prasidh Krishna has come into the attack and picked up Jofra Archer. Every time Shubman Gill needed a breakthrough this year he has turned to Prasidh and he did deliver the goods. Also, Hetmyer has gone past his half-century. It has been a good innings from him but he just did not have the support he needed from the batters from the other end. It is quite a tame effort from the Royals in this chase. When Parag and Samson were batting together it did show some promise however, once that partnership was broken it all fell apart. As we update Prasidh picks Hetmyer.

Rashid Khan has picked up Shubam Dubey it did look plumb and was given out however, the batter decided to send it upstairs and there were three reds on the ball-tracking. It is fair to say it is all about minimizing the margin for the Royals from here on. Rashid Khan has bowled well today. There was something lacking in bowling this season so far but today he did his lengths and mark right from ball one. It is interesting that Shubman Gill did not even use his other left-arm spinner Sai Kishore who has been in quite terrific form as well.

Sanju Samson has fallen here and it is Praisdh Krishna who picks up the wicket. It was a short wide one which Samson tried to cut however, hit it straight to third-man in the ring. With that wicket now it does seem highly unlikely Royals will get these runs. It is a run chase that never started for them they just kept losing wickets through the innings. They needed a couple of partnerships like GT had in the first innings when Sai Sudharsan built with Jos Buttler and Shahrukh Khan later. While Samson did promise to play an innings of such it fell away in the end.

Hetmyer has started well here he is getting a few boundaries away however, it has to be even quicker than what he is scoring at right now. They need a couple of 20-run overs quickly does Titans. Meanwhile, Samson who is batting at the other is taking his time in the middle and is getting himself in. It is also high time that he starts changing his gears. We have not seen Sai Kishore come into the attack he has been in top form however, with Hetmyer in the middle it can be quite a tricky proposition. This is still on folks though Royals have lost four they just have the batting that can do it.

Dhruv Jurel too has fallen now. He tried to whack one on the leg-side and got holed at mid-wicket. It is falling apart for the Royals here. Not only they have fallen behind in terms of the scoring rate now they are also losing wickets. Shimron Hetmayer has walked into the middle it will need something extraordinary from both Samson and Hetmeyar to even get closer to the target. This has been top-class performance by the Titans. They did lose their opening game however, things have kept improving as the tournament is going on for them Gill espicallly has been top class with his captaincy.

This has been a decent power play for the Royals in the end. It did seem like the Royals were losing their way however, Parag and Samson have played quite well. The ball is coming nicely onto the bat and things have settled down. The run rate might going up but on this ground and the stroke players at Royals' disposable, it is doable. We have seen the other night how far Mumbai were in the chase and all it took was one cameo for them to get back into the game. As we update Riyan Parag has fallen it is impact sub Khejoroliya who picks up the wicket.

Though Mohammed Siraj has picked up the wicket he did not look at his best with the ball today. It can happen in this format of the game. However, Arshad Khan has bowled quite well from the other end which did help Titans with the new ball here. Meanwhile, from Royals' perspective,, Parag is looking in very good touch. He is batting quite well in the middle and also now that the ball has gone a bit older batting will get quite easier. it is a red-soil wicket and the bounce will be quite true to hit through the line if batters want to. As we update Prasidh comes into the attack.

Mohammed Siraj has picked up Nitish Rana here. It was a short ball and Rana got into an awkward position and ended up semi-upper cutting it straight to third man. This is superb bowling from the Titans with the new ball yet again here. They have lost a couple of wickets already did the Royals in this chase and they need some spark here. However, they should not panic yet unlike Titans Royals have a much longer batting line up and batting will get easier once we get past the powerplay. Interestingly though Arshad Khan to has bowled quite splendidly here thus far.

Mohammed Siraj has taken the new ball for the Titans he has been in top form this season, however, did miss his mark in that opening over. He did bowl a few too wide outside the off-stump or a few down the leg side. Meanwhile in the middle of all that Yashasvi Jaiswal did drive don't through the off-side for a boundary. Arshad Khan has taken the new ball from the other end and he picked up a wicket here. The ball was thrown wide outside the off-stump and Jaiswal carved it straight to third man. Rajasthan Royals have an early wicket here. Good start for the Titans.

The surface was swinging a bit at the start but the wicket was good to bat on. He (Jofra) started well but we consolidated after. We understood the wicket was really good so we wanted to push a bit more. The way we were going, we felt we could get 15 more but this is still a great score. I feel dew won’t come on today. As a team, we try to keep wickets in hand and go hard in the last five overs. I’m not trying to be consistent in any way, just reacting to the situation and doing the best out of it. (If Jofra is the quickest bowler he’s faced) I faced Nortje last year, but he was probably quicker. He got a bit of purchase of the wicket as well today. Slower ones and change of pace will hold on the wicket, so I feel we have a good score.

That was quite a cameo by Rahul Tewatia to help GT to get 217/6. It is a massive total but not unchasable. But the Royals have to see through the new ball spell of GT seamers who are in top form. Unless an innings of the century from the top three comes it will be quite tricky to chase these runs for the Royals. A word on Sudharsan in a world full of players playing a certain brand of cricket he has continued to play the orthodox way and churned out the runs and helped GT to the score they did. This is turning into a very fruitful campaign for him, do join for all the live action from the second innings.

Sai Sudharan tried to whack a full one from Tushar Deshpande and got the inside to Samson. He missed out on 100 did Sudharsan however, what an innings it has been from him. It just might be the match-winning Titans needed in this contest.

Sandeep Sharma has come back and picked up the wicket of Sherfane Rutherford. It was a wide slower one which Rutherford tried to drive and got the outside edge to the keeper. That is a very important wicket for the Royals at this stage of the game if Rutherford had got himself he could have done some serious damage at this stage. However, Sudharsan too has opened up against Sandeep Sharma carving couple of boundaries through off-side. Sudharsan is getting closer to his ton here. If he manages to get it what an innings it would be from him.

Apart from Jofra Archer, all the other Rajasthan Royals bowlers have taken a pasting. It is hard to judge how good this performance is until GT themselves bowl on this. However, GT has bowlers who have been in superb form. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna have been exceptional in this tournament. Anyway, we have to go back to that opening spell where Archer could have bowled another over. As we update Maheesh Theekshana has picked up Shahrukh Khan. It was a carrom ball the batter came down the track and after seeing it Theekshana threw it wide outside the off-stump.

This has been another brilliant partnership between Sharukh Khan and Sai Sudharsan. This seems to be an excellent batting strip yes, it did a bit with the new ball but once the moisture has dried down it has been a batting paradise. GT from here on should be hoping to get 220 here because we have seen in this ground whenever red soil is used the chasing too becomes quite easy and if dew plays its part Royals too have enough power in their batting to post 200 hence with the advantage they have got now GT they have to get to 220 which promises to be a winning total on this wicket. Sharukh Khan has to take the initiative here.

Important innings for Shahrukh Khan. He did have his opportunity in the tournament once before but could not deliver much. Today the stage is set for him to produce a good cameo. Meanwhile, Sai Sudharsan continues on his merry way. He did start quite quickly Sudharsan however, into the middle overs he has lost a bit of momentum or it just seems like that is the way he wants to construct his innings. One good thing about Sudharsan though he doesn't throw the starts away. Once he gets himself in he makes sure that he gets those runs away.

Maheesh Theekshana has picked up Jos Buttler here. It is quite a bizarre dismissal as Buttler was trying to make some room tried to play the ball on the leg-side however, the ball did come in and hit the pads. At the first look it did seem like it was missing the leg-stump and the umpire on-field did not give it out. And it was sent upstairs and there were three reds. Huge moment though for Rajasthan as things were just drifting away from them. Shahrukh Khan is the new man and as soon he has come in Samson has turned to Archer here which is an excellent move. One more wicket here will put a lot of pressure on GT.

Titans batting lineup is one of those old-school white-ball lineups where the bulk of the scoring has to come from the top three. It is not that the batters coming down the order cannot play big innings but for them to have a good campaign Buttler, Sudharsan and Gill have to score plenty of runs consistently. And so far it has worked out well for them. Against Hyderabad when Buttler and Sudharsan fell early it did seem a tad bit shacky however, Sundar came in to put off the flames. Once again today they have done a fine job here and now it is about changing the gears.

Sudharsan has started well here yet again. He has become a consistent opener for the Titans this season. While the strike rate might be questionable at times but he has been delivering the goods every game. He is looking a bit more proactive today he has played a few more shots early on compared to the previous games. Meanwhile, Jos Buttler once again is taking his time and through the tournament this year he took his time initially however, motored along nicely as the game went on. As we update Maheesh Theekshana has come into attack.

Tushar Deshpande comes into the attack here. It is quite a tricky balance to get it right. Ideally Jofra Archer bowling one more over would have been a better move, however, it is quite a tricky balance to get right especially in this format of the game and when someone is as good as Archer. On the other hand, Sai Sudharsan who did respect Archer seems to be having a go at bowlers from the other end. Also, it is interesting to see none of the other bowlers apart from Archer have been able to extract as much a moment as he has been able to.

Archer bowled a beauty to get rid of Shubman Gill here. The ball seamed back in sharply as Gill was trying to open his blade and play through the off-side. There was nothing much he could have done about it nor could anyone. This is a brilliant start for the Royals. The ball is hooping around the corners for Archer and it will be interesting to see if Samson will give him another over with the new ball. Also, there is a possibility that once the ball loses a bit of seam the ball might stop moving as much. Jos Buttler has walked into the middle and he has been struggling to cope up with things as well.

Jofra Archer has taken the new ball for Rajasthan Royals and he did get some help with the ball in that opening over. After going for some runs in the first game seems like Archer has found his mojo in the tournament. Also, this is a red-soil wicket which will always help the bowlers who are willing to bend their back. Meanwhile, Fazalhaq Farooqi has taken the ball from the other end. With the nature of this wicket here he might be quite a handful as well. He can swing the ball both ways like Archer. It is going to be a tough few overs for both Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill.

Feels good, the first game back felt like I was coming in after a long time but the franchise has made me feel home and nice. There are a lot of people here that I have played with, played against so nice to come back and do well for the team. (On the importance of preparation for IPL) It was important. Every time I play good amount of cricket and come into the tournament, I feel good because T20 is such that you need to be thinking on your feet. You need to be able to do multiple things at once and having played multiple formats certainly helps me. (On his role in the team) It has slightly changed but then you never know when I’ll get to bowl in any game, so far it has been that I am bowling one in the powerplay and rest outside the powerplay but we are prepared, we are willing to do the hard work that the team wants. (On the pitch today) I haven’t really looked at the wicket yet but Ahmedabad is the kind of wicket that has something for the seamers and it gets easier as the day progresses. We are here to have clear plans, go out there and execute them.

"The outfield is absolutely fantastic and like a billiards table. The size of the boundary - 60 meters on one side and 71 on the other, 73 meters straight. They say it is a red soil pitch. There is a tinge of green grass. But it is going to be a super batting surface. We have seen some high scores and you need a big score if you bat first. Both top orders in very good form. It promises to be a heavyweight battle. Bat first, put a massive total on the board and put pressure. 220 is the par total here,"

Gujarat Titans Impact Subs: Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Arshad Khan

Rajasthan Royals Impact Subs: Kunal Singh Rathore, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal

Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande

I would have bowled first as well. Looking at the past few matches, dew has come in during the second innings but we have batted first here. We are taking it one game at a time and not keeping track on how many games we have won. If the top 3 or 4 are doing the job then I am happy with that. We have had a really good home run and hopefully nothing changes for us, support from the fans has always been tremendous. No changes for us.

We would like to bowl here first because of the conditions. There is going to be dew here. Each and every game in the IPL is important, we are grateful of the last two games and take the momentum forward. It is great to be back. It is a very new team, new guys in the squad, we retained six guys but it is still a new team, we took time to gel together and know our roles. The wicket looks really good and will stay true. Hasaranga misses out due to personal reasons Farooqi comes in.

Ahmedabad's match today (April 9th, 2025) will start in very hot conditions (around 40°C) that will cool to 34°C later. Humidity will be low (12-15%), and the sky will be clear with no rain expected. This suggests a hot but dry evening for cricket, potentially influencing team strategies regarding batting first or second.

“What I found exciting and impressive from both GT’s and Washington’s point of view, is that he now gives them one more option. In their top three, they’ve got one left-hander Sai Sudharsan, who bats deep. But after that, it was almost an all right-handed line-up until Rahul Tewatia. I think we’ll see Washington play a lot more games from here on — and play a bigger role too, including with the ball. His bowling is very underrated. Give him the new ball in the powerplay, and you’ll find him economical,”

“The Impact Player Rule allowed us to balance things out with an extra bowler, but today, Washi (Washington) showed his class. That knock was outstanding. The energy he brings with the ball and in the field is just contagious. When you play against him, you know he’s a threat. When he’s in your team, he lifts everyone — it’s a different vibe altogether,” 

“Today we had the discovery of Washington Sundar, the batter. Earlier, it was all about one-two-three in their batting. Now, suddenly, they’ve got another arrow in their quiver — which we didn’t think was available to them.”

“Washington was with SRH for the longest time. They paid Rs 8 crore to acquire his services, and yet didn’t give him a proper opportunity. Even here at GT, he was picked up but didn’t get a single game until today — and still didn’t bowl. It’s quite bizarre how he’s been handled at the IPL level,”

Ishant Sharma's IPL 2025 season with Gujarat Titans has been tough so far. In three games, he's only taken one wicket and has been expensive, conceding 107 runs in 8 overs. His performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday, April 6th, 2025 was particularly costly (53 runs in 4 wicketless overs), leading to him being replaced by Sherfane Rutherford during the match. His bowling figures reflect a frustrating start to the season.

Gujarat Titans pacer Ishant Sharma was fined 25% of his match fee and given a demerit point for violating the IPL's code of conduct (Article 2.2, likely involving abuse of equipment) during their win against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday, April 6th, 2025. He admitted to the Level 1 offense and accepted the Match Referee's sanction. This happened in a game where he conceded 53 runs in four overs without taking a wicket.

“He has a great relationship with Ashish (Nehra), and you’re seeing the results of their work together. Ashish has a rare ability to instil confidence in players. You’ve seen that with other players at GT as well. That’s exactly what’s happening with Siraj,”

“He’s a fine bowler. I think it’s unfair to say things haven’t been going well for him. He’s performed outstandingly well when given the opportunity. Sometimes we expect too much from someone like Siraj, who’s already achieved so much. We judge quickly based on one or two performances, but he’s been exceptional since joining us,” 

“I was here for seven years, changed my jersey from red to blue, and was emotional, but once I got the ball, I was fine,” Siraj said after the game against RCB. “I had been playing consistently, but during the break, I corrected my mistakes and worked on my fitness.”

Mohammed Siraj's time with RCB presented a tough environment for a fast bowler. The Chinnaswamy Stadium's small size, a pitch that doesn't offer much help to pacers, and perhaps a lack of consistent support from the other bowlers made it a challenging place for him. Those numbers from last year (15 wickets at an economy of 9.18) don't really tell the whole story, though. It's mentioned that he still bowled with a lot of energy and effort, suggesting that the conditions were more to blame for the figures than a lack of trying on his part. It just goes to show how much the venue and team dynamics can impact a bowler's performance!

“You saw how emotional he got when he saw Virat Kohli during the game against RCB. He’s a soft guy inside, an innocent guy who only knows how to bowl fast,” Srinivas says. “He doesn’t understand politics. Have you ever seen him make a controversial statement?”

“Siraj has been performing at a high level for seven to eight years. Players eventually experience fatigue — there are bound to be phases where form dips,” said Srinivas.

“He’s played continuously: Test series, Asia Cups, IPLs—no break, no rest for the mind. It’s more mental fatigue than physical. When that sets in, performances dip, and that’s when a break is needed. The team management should have given him a break. Removing him was a mistake,” he explains.

“He is mentally tough. “He has the jaan laga denge attitude. Even if a couple of matches don’t go his way he won’t feel down. He will pick himself up,” he says. “He wants to give his 150 per cent. He is not worried about injuries he might sustain when trying hard. Whenever there is a setback he tries harder to give a comeback and this is his USP,” 

Ah, a new twist in the tale! So, Mohammed Siraj has joined the Gujarat Titans and is really hitting his stride. It sounds like he's proving his worth as a genuine wicket-taker, even if his style is different from other top Indian pacers like Bumrah and Shami. Nine wickets in just four games is a fantastic start – way better than his last season. And the fact that four of those wickets came against his old team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, adds a little extra spice to the story, doesn't it? It's always interesting to see players perform against their former sides. This "season of revelation" for Siraj with the Titans is definitely something to keep an eye on!

Ahmedabad's match today (April 9th, 2025) will start in very hot conditions (around 40°C) that will cool to 34°C later. Humidity will be low (12-15%), and the sky will be clear with no rain expected. This suggests a hot but dry evening for cricket, potentially influencing team strategies regarding batting first or second.

The Narendra Modi Stadium has used two different pitches for its two IPL 2025 matches. The red soil pitch produced a high-scoring game (243/5 vs 232/5). The black soil pitch was slower, favoring bowlers with pace variations, but still saw a close to 200 score. A defendable score on black soil is around 180-190, while on red soil it's about 210-220 due to smaller boundaries. The pitch type significantly impacts the game.

Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan, R. Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Sherfae Rutherford

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande/Kumar Kartikeya

"Credits to the, the whole support staff and especially the bowling unit because they're very clear as to how they're gonna turn up every single game against different opposition. They had the plans very clear against different batsmen, no matter where the venue might be. For us to have restricted the teams to less than 180 on three occasions is amazing. And it obviously speaks of the quality that we've got in our bowling lineup. So yes, we've been doing a lot of things right. I mean without doing a lot of things right consistently, I don't think you will have a great start to a very competitive tournament like the IPL."

"We recognise that giving him (Jofra Archer) the new ball has made a big difference for us. You know, we've put runs on the board and people have found it hard against him with the new ball. It's moving around with his pace and his bounce. So I think him leading our attack has given the rest of the bowling group a lot of confidence. I know he's got a lot of confidence and so excited to see what he can do out here on this wicket tomorrow. But yeah, he's a real important part of our team and it's nice to get him back into the form that we know he's capable of."

Hello and welcome to our live blog of Rajasthan Royals taking on Gujarat Titans. While the former has been a bit up and down so far this season the latter has been in top form. Nevertheless, the tournament is getting into the middle phase and getting quite heated at the top. Do stay with us to get all the updates.