At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Rajasthan Royals seamer Jofra Archer left the field looking visibly rattled after a chaotic opening over against Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2026 meeting. The England quick’s spell began with control issues and snowballed into a nightmare, drawing heated reactions from the dugout and even prompting head coach Kumar Sangakkara to step in and steady the bowler near the boundary.
Archer’s stormy opening over: ball-by-ball
- Archer got the innings underway with a short, wide delivery outside the off stump, and Sai Sudharsan punished it by cutting over point for four.
- On the next ball, he bowled another wide outside off, which moved away sharply; Sudharsan swung and missed.
- In the same over, Archer followed with a short-of-length ball outside off that shaped away; Sudharsan guided it towards backward point but could not find runs.
- Things worsened when Archer overstepped significantly and ended up delivering a no-ball. Sudharsan steered the back-of-a-length ball towards backward point, where fielding lapses allowed a single, and Gujarat also received a free hit.
- On the free hit, Archer sent the ball skidding far down the leg side. Shubman Gill went for a flick and missed, sending it away to the boundary for five wides.
- Archer tried to regain control but sprayed another wide down the leg side, continuing the damage early.
- He then bowled yet another wide down the leg side, making it three consecutive wides while the free hit remained in play and the Rajasthan dugout looked tense.
- On the legal delivery after the run of extras, Archer finally landed a yorker outside off. Gill tried to squeeze it out but missed completely.
- Archer then pitched it on middle and leg, and Gill flicked it through square leg for a single.
- Sai Sudharsan survived a leading-edge moment while attempting a cross-bat flick. The ball cleared the cover fielder and the batters completed two runs, with the third umpire briefly checking for another no-ball before confirming Archer’s back foot was only marginally behind the line.
- The over concluded with Archer miscuing behind the stumps. Sudharsan drove a length ball to cover for a single, but an overthrow at the wicketkeeper’s end helped Gujarat Titans wrap up 18 runs from the over.
After finally finishing the over, Archer walked towards the ropes looking red-faced and clearly frustrated. His body language suggested he was particularly upset with some untidy fielding moments from his teammates that compounded the early chaos.
The incident turned emotional enough that Sangakkara approached the boundary area to calm Archer before play resumed, underscoring how sharply the situation had swung on the field.
Despite Archer’s opening-over meltdown, Gujarat Titans built momentum through the innings, with captain Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan both driving their way to commanding half-centuries. Washington Sundar later added late fireworks as Gujarat Titans finished on 229/4 against Rajasthan Royals.
