Good morning—Sunday edition. Whether you’re curled up with tea after a late-night IPL session or pretending you’ll step outside before the next match window opens, the league’s storylines have already delivered plenty of drama. Gujarat Titans spent Saturday night looking like the kind of team that never panics, while Rajasthan Royals slipped again into a familiar pattern of losing control after a strong start. Here’s your quick, two-minute pulse-check of the IPL circuit.
Key takeaways
- Jofra Archer’s opening spell for Rajasthan included wides, a no-ball, and multiple aborted run-ups before he finally got through the over.
- Gujarat Titans reduced Rajasthan in the powerplay, going on to post 82/0, with the chase collapsing early.
- Rashid Khan finished the job with figures of 4 for 33, including the dismissal of Donovan Ferreira.
- Rajasthan Royals have now slipped out of the top four for the first time this season.
- GT’s captain Shubman Gill credited the team’s approach as wicket-taking first, insisting there’s “no other way” to restrain opponents.
Last night in five lines
Archer began with a messy over—wides, a no-ball, and 11 separate run-up attempts—before completing the delivery sequence. From there, Gujarat Titans’ batters blitzed Rajasthan in the opening phase, smashing them for 82/0 in the powerplay. Regular skipper Riyan Parag was forced out with a hamstring concern, but the Royals briefly steadied things through their spinners before the momentum swung back to Gujarat. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi then tried to ignite another chase, striking 36 off just 16 balls. Rashid Khan, however, arrived with the right timing and wrapped up the innings, taking 4/33.
Oh, that happened
In a standout moment, Rashid Khan produced a legbreak that slipped past Donovan Ferreira—so quick that the batter didn’t pick it up. Ferreira had his front foot planted, looking to work the ball for a single, but the delivery deviated sharply and beat his bat to hit the stumps. When asked about it afterward, Ferreira said he “made that movie in my mind,” believing the ball would come off for the planned shot, and added he knew the wicket was coming “as soon as the ball went from my hand.”
Pulse Awards
Jofra Archer collected the “please-recalibrate-your-GPS” tag for a chaotic opening over that disrupted Rajasthan’s rhythm. Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill shared the “marriages-are-made-in-auction” award for forming one of the most productive batting partnerships in the tournament, delivering their ninth century stand together—the joint second-best in IPL history. Sooryavanshi won the “chaos-intern” honour after hitting big shots, getting struck on the boot, briefly limping, and then returning to the crease as if nothing happened.
Another award went to SMS in Jaipur—dubbed the “Airbnb-host-from-hell” designation—after Rajasthan have lost 7 of their last 8 matches at that venue. Tushar Deshpande earned the “Ctrl+Z” award for effectively undoing two overs of respectable death bowling in a matter of just three deliveries.
Talking point: Rajasthan’s top-four fall
Rajasthan Royals have dropped out of the top four for the first time this season. Up to April 24, they had been setting the benchmark with the tournament’s best bowling profile: 52 wickets, an average of 21.63, a strike rate of 14.8, an economy rate of 8.76, and 38.7% dot balls—every metric ranked No. 1 at the time. Since then, their numbers have flipped dramatically: they’ve recorded the league’s worst economy (11.40), taken only 16 wickets across four matches, and conceded 906 runs at 11.67 per over.
Key bowlers have also lost momentum. Ravi Bishnoi and Nandre Burger combined for 1/194 in 13.3 overs over their last four games before being dropped. The decline has been visible in run-flow as well: Jofra Archer and Brijesh Sharma have moved from below 8 runs per over to above 11.
And it’s not the first time Rajasthan have looked like a team that fades after a fast start.
The Chatter
Rashid Khan admitted that he “did hurry” during his recovery from back surgery last year, calling it “a huge mistake,” and suggested that this season has been more about simply enjoying bowling again. Shubman Gill praised the win as a “clean win” and explained that Gujarat Titans’ bowling approach is built on the idea that the only way to control teams is to keep taking wickets—because, as he put it, “there is no other way.”
Kagiso Rabada described bowling to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as “just hedging your bets and hoping it comes off,” which essentially amounted to acknowledging how hard it is to fully contain a batter in form. Stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal, meanwhile, brushed off fielding issues from Jofra Archer by saying “it’s cricket,” adding he “didn’t think that much” about leaving out Burger.
Stat snack
Gujarat Titans have now won 7 of their 10 meetings against Rajasthan Royals, including three victories in four games at Jaipur.
Gossip column
There’s chatter that some IPL players still instinctively search for the nearest camera whenever a teammate says something even remotely funny. However, BCCI leadership appears firmly “anti-vlogging” now. The franchise social media teams, it’s said, are secretly the happiest—because dressing-room content is finally returning to something closer to their control.
Tonight’s watchlist
CSK take on LSG at Chepauk first, with Raipur hosting the later evening clash between RCB and MI, weather permitting. One name to keep an eye on is Anshul Kamboj, who has been in top form after an otherwise disappointing Test debut earlier this year. Suryakumar Yadav is also expected to play for MI. Whether he leads again will depend on Hardik Pandya’s fitness.
Reckless prediction for tonight’s match
Expect a 10-over shoot-out style of contest between RCB and MI, with the Raipur crowd likely waiting until midnight to catch the action.
