Ahmedabad: Sai Sudharsan's dazzling 82 off 53 balls and a brutal lower-order assault from Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan powered Gujarat Titans (GT) to a commanding 58-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 23rd match of the IPL 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Wednesday.
After being put into bat by Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson, GT recovered from an early jolt—when captain Shubman Gill was bowled by Jofra Archer for just 2, to post a mammoth 217 for 6. Sudharsan anchored the innings with a fine array of strokes, weathering Archer’s probing spell and then accelerating with elegance and authority. His knock, laced with eight boundaries and three sixes, set up the platform.
Jos Buttler, promoted to open, chipped in with a fluent 36 off 25 balls. Later, Shahrukh Khan (36 off 20), Rahul Tewatia (24* off 12), and Rashid Khan (12 off 4) added crucial runs, particularly in the last five overs, where GT smashed over 70 runs. Tewatia’s final over blitz against Sandeep Sharma, which included a six and two fours, propelled Gujarat past the 200-mark.
Rajasthan's bowling faltered under pressure, barring Archer (4-0-30-1) and Theekshana (4-0-54-2), while Tushar Deshpande (4-0-53-2) was expensive. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Sandeep Sharma also failed to contain the late onslaught.
Chasing 218, Rajasthan lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early for 6 as he sliced Arshad Khan straight to deep point. Nitish Rana soon followed, falling to Mohammed Siraj at deep third man in the third over, leaving RR reeling at 12/2.
Samson and Riyan Parag attempted to counter-attack. Parag lit up the powerplay with audacious strokes, including a flicked six off Siraj and a towering hit over mid-on, while Samson delighted with a punchy 41 off 28 balls, including a 93-metre six over cover and successive boundaries off Arshad.
But Kulwant Khejroliya dealt a blow removing Parag caught behind by Buttler and then Dhruv Jurel to a brilliant low catch by Sudharsan at deep midwicket off Rashid Khan, turning the game firmly in Gujarat's favour.
Shimron Hetmyer’s arrival added some late fireworks. He blasted 52 off 32 balls, hitting Rashid for sixes and carving boundaries at will, but wickets kept tumbling at the other end. Shubham Dubey was trapped plumb in front by Rashid's googly, and Prasidh Krishna, bowling with clever variations, dented the chase further.
Prasidh's spell turned decisive as he removed Samson and Archer in quick succession. Samson miscued one to the inner ring, while Archer fell to a sharp short ball that Gill safely pouched.
Hetmyer tried to soldier on, bringing up his fifty with a delightful drive through extra cover, but fell next ball, caught at deep backward square by Sai Kishore, which all but ended the contest.
Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore mopped up the tail in style. He first had Tushar Deshpande caught at deep midwicket by Rashid Khan, and then fittingly took the final wicket of Theekshana, who lofted one to long-off where Sudharsan completed a fine catch.
Rajasthan were bowled out for 159 in 19.2 overs, crashing to a 58-run defeat. Prasidh Krishna starred with figures of 4-0-24-3, while Rashid (4-0-37-2) and Kishore (2.2-0-20-2) chipped in with key strikes. GT's clinical allround display keeps them firmly in contention in the IPL 2025.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat Titans: 217/6 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 82, Shahrukh Khan 36, Tewatia 24*; Theekshana 2/54, Deshpande 2/53)
Rajasthan Royals: 159 all out in 19.2 overs (Hetmyer 52, Samson 41; Prasidh 3/24, Rashid 2/37, Sai Kishore 2/2)
Result: Gujarat Titans won by 58 runs.
