Rajasthan rule by six: Jurel builds for RR, Bishnoi breaks GT in a nerve-wracking blockbuster

Rajasthan Royals defeated Gujarat Titans by six runs in a tightly contested IPL 2026 encounter at Ahmedabad on Saturday, with Ravi Bishnoi's four-wicket burst proving the difference between two evenly matched sides.

Rajasthan won the toss and elected to bat , and their openers made an immediate impact. Vaibhav Suryavanshi , the teenage sensation, raced to 31 off just 18 balls before being caught off Rashid Khan , his partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal producing 70 off 38 balls , a start that put the fielding side on the back foot from the very first over. Jaiswal went on to make 55 off 36 , composed and calculated, before Kagiso Rabada ended his stay in the 12th over.

Dhruv Jurel was the cornerstone of the innings, batting through the middle overs with maturity well beyond his years to finish on 75 off 42 balls , including five fours and five sixes . His dismissal by Mohammed Siraj in the 19th over came too late to matter. Rajasthan closed on 210/6 , a total that would test any side. Brief contributions from Shimron Hetmyer (18 off 8) and Riyan Parag (8 off 4) helped push the score past 210.

Gujarat’s reply was anything but a surrender. Sai Sudharsan led the chase with a fluent 73 off 44 balls , and Jos Buttler’s explosive 26 off 14 kept the run rate healthy through the middle stages. At the halfway point, the game was firmly in the balance. Then Bishnoi arrived . The leg-spinner ripped through Gujarat’s middle order, claiming four wickets for 41 runs in four overs , turning a competitive chase into a scramble.

Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia , and Shahrukh Khan all fell in quick succession, leaving the tail too much to do. Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada added 43 for the eighth wicket , briefly reigniting hopes, but it wasn’t enough. Gujarat finished on 204/8 , six agonising runs short.

Rajasthan Royals move up the IPL 2026 standings with a well-earned two points.