🏏IPL 2026: RR vs GT, 52nd Match, at Jaipur🏏

🏏IPL 2026: RR vs GT, 52nd Match, at Jaipur🏏

Cast your mind back to Rajasthan Royals' campaigns in IPL 2023 and 2024. A dominant start before falling away and losing momentum - to the extent of losing games on the bounce - before missing out on the playoffs or at least a top-two berth which once seemed inevitable. As the ongoing season now builds towards the business end, there is an eerily familiar mid-season correlation on display.

The Royals looked every bit the team to beat in early April, shutting teams out in the Powerplay with bat and ball. What followed was a two-game blip and they have since blown hot and cold, finding themselves walking on familiar dodgy terrain again. Compounding this is the fact that they play Gujarat Titans on Saturday after a week of no cricket. Following that game is another week's break, by which time the points table ought to have taken a more definitive shape.

But a long gap can stall a team's momentum. Just ask Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who may not be anywhere near dicey territory but have endured defeat on either side of their lengthy break. That the Royals run into a GT side fresh off a hat-trick of wins only solidifies the narrative over whether they can keep cobwebs at bay.

In essence, this is a game that RR would not want to lose, lest they then assume the role of nervous watchers over the course of the week ahead. They have twice posted totals in excess of 225 in Jaipur, only to see them being chased down convincingly. Has the time come then for changes to their bowling attack whose teeth have certainly blunted with the exception of Jofra Archer? And is Dhruv Jurel still their best bet at number 3 despite his inability to pump momentum into the innings against spin?

The Titans have fewer questions to answer, although a flat surface could cast doubts again over whether they can gun down gargantuan totals, with the side built around stability over uber-aggression. Their recent wins have all followed a similar template - early inroads with the new ball, followed by a continued strangle in the middle-overs, handing a top-heavy batting order a below-par total to chase.

They would know very well as to why that is key again on Saturday, for it was in this very fixture last year that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi announced himself with a 35-ball hundred. And for a team on the upswing and peaking at the right time, GT ought to be well-prepared - something that RR would be wary of. With a loss set to push RR out of the top-four, this is a match that could have serious implications over the two teams' respective qualification chances.

When: Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans, Saturday, May 9 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

What to expect: Another hot day with clear skies. If totals of 228 and 225 chased down at the venue this season are anything to go by, another run-fest could be on the cards. For a change, the Royals may not mind that considering that GT are a tough nut to crack on tackier decks.

Head to Head: 6-3 in favour of GT after nine games. The Titans also hold a slender 2-1 lead in matches at Jaipur. RR, however, won the reverse-fixture earlier this season after Tushar Deshpande nailed his yorkers in a final-over thriller.

Rajasthan Royals

Injuries/Unavailability: There are no new injuries reported by the RR camp.

Tactics & Matchups: Nandre Burger's returns over the last three games read 1/150 off 11 overs. The sudden nosedive in his and Ravi Bishnoi's form could prompt a change, with RR potentially looking towards Adam Milne to partner Archer in the Powerplay.

Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka/Tushar Deshpande, Jofra Archer, Adam Milne, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma

Gujarat Titans

Injuries/Unavailability: No injuries to report from the GT camp either.

Tactics & Matchups: With Jurel struggling to break free against spin (SR of 104.76 against spin in his last six games), there is a case for the Titans to introduce Rashid Khan a lot earlier, even if it means breaking away from their ploy of having Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada handling the Powerplay by themselves. Prasidh Krishna has not been part of the XII for three games running now, but with Manav Suthar unlikely to bowl against an RR side stacked with left-handers, the lanky seamer may just return in his place.

Probable XII: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Manav Suthar/Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj

Did you know?

- Rabada has bowled nearly two-thirds of his overs in the Powerplay (64.1%) - the highest ever for him in an IPL season. He has also picked up 11 wickets in this phase in IPL 2026 - again his most in an IPL season.

- The Royals had the best average, strike-rate and economy rate in the tournament after their first four games. Since then, they have gone at nearly 10 runs per over while averaging 35.96 per wicket, with those numbers placing them in the bottom half of the bowling charts.

- Donovan Ferreira's strike-rate of 204.82 is the highest for a batter in T20s in overs 16-20 since 2025

Big picture - 4 vs 5 with a chance to go higher

How quickly the fortunes change in the IPL. Not long ago, the top four for the IPL 2026playoffs seemed like a done deal. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals had separated themselves so much from the rest of the pack that catching up seemed tough. But caught up they have, and are climbing up the table quick enough to make the current top four very nervous.

One of the prime contenders are fifth-placed Gujarat Titans, who are peaking at the right time. The top order has been consistent, Washington Sundar and Rashid Khan have found form and the fast bowling battery has been relentless. They will be facing fourth-placed RR, whose four in four at the start of the season seems like a distant memory.

Both GT and RR are coming into this game with an identical record: six wins and four losses after ten games. But the trajectories have been different. GT are on an upswing, having scored three straight wins; RR have lost three of their last five games. While the match is crucial for both teams, it holds much more significance for RR. They last played a game on May 1, where they failed to defend 225 against Delhi Capitals. After the GT clash on May 9, RR next play only on May 16. The points table would have changed a lot by then, and if they drop points against GT, they could potentially end up facing the pressure of must-win games at the back-end of the tournament.

At the heart of GT's growth and RR's patchy form has been their respective bowling. The GT quicks, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj are breathing fire. The two have bowled unchanged through the powerplay in the last few games and that's provided the cushion for Rashid to do his thing in the middle-overs. Jason Holder's addition, too, has worked wonders for GT. If Rabada and Siraj can break the Jai-Soorya partnership early and get into the wobbly middle order, things could unravel for RR quickly.

On the other hand, RR have been overly reliant on Jofra Archer. While he's been consistent in the powerplay - he's the joint second-highest wicket-taker in this phase - he's lacked support from the rest. Nandre Burger has blown hot and cold, so have Brijesh Sharma and Tushar Deshpande. While Ravindra Jadeja has kept the runs in check, he only has seven wickets in ten games. RR have conceded 220-plus runs in three consecutive innings now and worryingly, two of those have come in Jaipur.

RR did, however, defeat GT when these two teams met earlier in the season. GT, needing 15 off 12 with three wickets in hand, failed to cross the line with Archer and Deshpande acing the last two overs.

A win for GT will catapult them from five to two on the points table; a win for RR will take them to two and a big win can also give them top spot.

Team news - GT unlikely to change

RR have a Burger problem and they could make a change on that front, bringing in one of Kwena Maphaka or Adam Milne. They could also replace him with Dasun Shanaka, who provides both batting and bowling options. There is also a chance that RR could bring back Shimron Hetmyer to bolster the batting depth.

Rajasthan Royals (probable XII): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 4 Riyan Parag (capt), 5 Donovan Ferreira, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Shubham Dubey, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Nandre Burger/Dasun Shanaka, 11 Brijesh Sharma, 12 Tushar Deshpande

GT handed Nishant Sindhu a debut in the last game and are unlikely to tinker with a winning combination. Manav Suthar did go for 27 in the only over he bowled against PBKS, but was effective in the earlier games. He also adds batting depth, which means R Sai Kishore might have to wait his turn.

Gujarat Titans (probable XII): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Nishant Sindhu, 5 Washington Sundar, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Manav Suthar, 10 Arshad Khan, 11 Kagiso Rabada, 12 Mohammed Siraj

In the spotlight: Dhruv Jurel and Kagiso Rabada

RR have backed Dhruv Jurel since the start of his IPL career, and he's repaid the faith with consistent numbers. While he is among the runs again in IPL 2026, the consistency is lacking. Jurel has scored three fifties so far this season, but also has four single-digit scores in ten innings. Against Punjab Kings, in a 223-run chase, he got stuck and managed just 16 off 20, with Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey having to play blinders to get RR over the line. Even against Delhi Capitals, on a belter of a surface where 225 played 226, Jurel struck at only 140, during his 30-ball 42. Jurel has been given the No. 3 role this season but needs to get better with his consistency and strike rate in the remaining games.

Kagiso Rabada has cranked up his pace in IPL 2026 and the rewards are for everyone to see. He has consistently breached the 145kph barrier and is GT's leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets in ten games. Rabada's powerplay bowling has stood out; he's relentlessly bowled good length and back-of-the-length deliveries in that phase, and the wickets have come. No other bowler has picked up more wickets than him in the powerplay: 11, while maintaining an economy rate of 8.96. But there is a caveat. Almost 69% of Rabada's 16 wickets have come in the home conditions of Ahmedabad, where the pitches have suited fast bowling. That is one record that he will want to change when GT travel to Jaipur.

Stats and trivia

• Donovan Ferreira's strike-rate of 264.86 is the third-highest for any batter who has faced more than 30 balls in the death overs in IPL 2026. He has also struck 11 sixes during this phase, the second-highest after Tim David's 12
• Mohammed Siraj's powerplay economy rate of 6.92 is the second-best in the season after Akeal Hosein's 6.44 (minimum 30 balls bowled)
• Shubman Gill will have to be careful against Jofra Archer, who has been on song in the powerplay. Archer has dismissed Gill three times in six innings in the IPL
• Riyan Parag has fallen to Holder twice in two innings in the IPL and twice in six innings against Rashid Khan. His strike rate against Rashid is only 90
• Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struck his maiden IPL century one year back against GT. He has since added another ton to his name this season
• GT have won six out of nine games against RR in the IPL