🏏 IPL 2025 ~ 23rd Match GT vs RR @7.30 PM 🏏

🏏 IPL 2025 ~ 23rd Match:

GT vs RR at Ahmedabad on 9th April, 7.30 PM IST 🏏

Gujarat Titans (GT) will take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 23rd match of the Indian Premier League 2025. This match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Gujarat Titans are second in the points table with three wins and a loss in four matches. They beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous match and will be high on confidence, having won three games on the trot.

On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals have two wins and as many losses in four matches. They are placed seventh in the table. Rajasthan Royals beat Punjab Kings by 50 runs in the previous match. This should be a closely fought game between these two sides.

They say you can experience all four seasons in a single day - and Shane Bond believes you can live them all in a single T20 game at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Ahead of Rajasthan Royals' clash against Gujarat Titans, the RR bowling coach offered a unique analogy for cricket's largest Colosseum.

"It (the stadium) is intimidating, the ball gets a little bit softer, wetter and then all of a sudden batting can become a little bit easier. It's going to be dewy, but teams have still won more batting first than batting second. So the toss is almost irrelevant," said Bond.

That may not be entirely accurate - chasing teams have won 12 matches here compared to nine by those batting first - but there's no denying the enigma of this venue. Dew is expected to play a big role, yet as Punjab Kings showed in the season opener, defending a total is far from impossible.

On current form and squad depth, Gujarat Titans appear the stronger side. Shubman Gill is leading from the front, with strong support from Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler. Sherfane Rutherford has made a strong impact - quite literally - delivering in crucial moments more often than not with the bat.

Their bowling has been equally sharp, led by a reinvigorated Mohammed Siraj. Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore and the tireless Rashid Khan have complemented him well. Once Kagiso Rabada returns, the attack could become near-unplayable. That said, the dew still looms as a great equaliser.

The Titans have restricted teams to under 180 in three of their four games this season - a remarkable stat given the high-scoring nature of IPL 2025. It's a testament to the execution, discipline, and adaptability of their bowling unit.

Rajasthan's attack has held its own too. Jofra Archer has set the tone with the new ball, while Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana have applied the brakes through the middle overs with their craft and control.

Where the Royals have room to grow is at the top of the order. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson haven't quite set the stage alight yet, though Jaiswal's 67 in the previous game was a promising sign. If both find form in tandem, RR could become a much more formidable unit.

With two in-form bowling line-ups going head-to-head, this clash may well be decided by the bat - whichever side handles the conditions, scoreboard pressure, and the dew, better on the night. At a venue like this, nothing is ever quite so straightforward.

What to expect: A high-scoring contest could be on the cards, but a full-blown run-fest? Not quite certain. The home team is likely to opt for a black soil pitch - similar to the one used against Mumbai Indians - which offered a slower surface and made strokeplay trickier. Even so, the chasing team should brace for a target in the range of 190-200.

Head to Head: GT 5-1 RR. Royals only win against Titans came in Ahmedabad in 2023.

Gujarat Titans

Availability: Kagiso Rabada, who has gone home on a personal exigency, continues to be unavailable for the Titans. No injury or fitness concerns for any layers.

Tactics & Match-ups: Titan's top three has scored bulk of their runs with at least one of them crossing 50+ in every game. Each of the three average 50+ with 150+ SR in Ahmedabad. They may have deal with the firepower of Jofra Archer who is in fine form. GT will also have to deftly manage the RR spinners - Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Teekshana.

Probable XII: 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.

Rajasthan Royals

Availability: There is no injury concerns in the RR ranks

Tactics & Match-ups: The Royals will need a big score from their star batters, Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Sanju Samson, which means they will have to stop in-form GT pacers, mainly Mohammed Siraj, from making early inroads. Shimron Hetmyer will be key for RR in the final overs, setting or chasing a target. He will have to find a way to score off Rashid Khan and R Sai Kishore besides, of course, the lanky Prasidh Krishna who has been quite disciplined and accurate this season.

Probable XII: 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

Did you know?

- R Sai Kishore has completely out bowled his senior pro Rashid Khan in each of the four games this season. He has eight wickets to Rashid's one and conceded only 113 runs in four games for an impressive economy rate of 7.6. Rashid has gone for 143 runs so far with ann economy rate of 10.21.

- Jos Buttler, who bats at No 3 for GT, is the second highest run getter for Royals in their IPL history with 3055 runs behind Sanju Samson's 3879.

- Titans are the leading team among Powerplay wickets by seamers in IPL 2025 with eight wicket at 22.62. They struggled last season in this phase with Shami absent, butn Siraj has stepped up for them this season.

- Siraj is the leading wicket taker in Powerplay in IPL 2025 with six scalps - two each in each of the last three games (scalps include Head, Abhishek, Salt & Rohit). He has bowled a whopping 63.6% dots, only behind Hazlewood's 72.9%.

Big picture: Similar teams, different results

These two teams have very similar make-ups. But their trajectories in IPL 2025 have diverged because the same strength they have invested in has worked for one but not the other.

Gujarat Titans (GT) are up in second place on the points table because their top three have been enormously productive. Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler have been responsible for over 70% of their team's runs - 503 out of 715. Plan A is going really well for them. Too well, maybe? T20 cricket is messy. And eventually, GT will have to deal with the fact that their middle order has got no time in the middle.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) have gone through that arc already this season. Yashasvi Jaiswal's indifferent form and Sanju Samson's return from injury have exposed their middle order and those back-up players were able to fashion an excellent win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Guwahati last week. Nitish Rana and Co appear slightly more battle-ready than Shahrukh Khan and Co.

New loyalties

Buttler, now with GT, will be coming up against his former team. He played seven seasons for RR, scoring over 3000 runs. RR captain Samson had even said before the season that letting Buttler go ahead of the auction was "one of the most challenging decisions" for him.

The big question

Is Rashid Khan on the decline? Surely not. A man with over 600 T20 wickets deserves the benefit of the doubt. But over the last two seasons in the IPL, he has picked up 11 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 46.36 and an economy rate of 8.84.

Team news and likely XIIs

There is no clarity yet around Kagiso Rabada, who left GT to return home for personal reasons. In his continued absence, Ishant Sharma might get more games as the Impact Sub.

Gujarat Titans (probable XII): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Arshad Khan/Washington Sundar, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 R Sai Kishore, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna, 12 Ishant Sharma

RR seemed to have hit their stride in the last game with Samson back as captain and Jaiswal producing runs as opener. They do not have a pressing reason to change their combination.

Rajasthan Royals (probable XII): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 3 Riyan Parag, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Kumar Kartikeya/Shubham Dubey, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Yudhvir Singh/Tushar Deshpande, 12 Sandeep Sharma