Gujarat Titans (GT) registered a thumping 77-run victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday (May 9) and moved to the second spot on the IPL 2026 points table.
After being sent in to bat, the visitors racked up a massive 229/4 on the board, thanks to skipper Shubman Gill’s 84 off 44 balls. His opening partner Sai Sudharsan (55 off 36) also hit a half-century, while Washington Sundar scored 20-ball 37.
In response, the Royals, led by stand-in skipper Yashasvi Jaiswal, were bowled out for just 152 in 16.3 overs. For GT, leg-spinner Rashid Khan led the charge with four wickets (4-33 in four overs).
Speaking after the game, Gill expressed satisfaction with the Titans' clean win, noting it was a near-perfect performance on a pitch assisting spinners.
“(Pleased with the way the team has been playing recently?) Yeah, definitely, even before this match, we had a conversation that till now I don’t think we had a perfect match. So very happy. I think this was a clean win for us,” Gill said during the post-match presentation.
“Definitely (would you say this was a perfect match?). I think we got above maybe 10-15 runs extra on the board. We thought there was a little bit in for the spinners in the middle. It wasn’t easy to hit sixes or get the boundaries. The ball was gripping a little bit. We got 230 runs on the board. We always knew, if we get a couple of wickets in the powerplay, we’re going to have a good game,” he added.
GT initially aimed for a score of 250 but found the pitch difficult for hitting spinners through the line. The focus then shifted to keeping wickets in hand and batting deep to maximize the final overs.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s what we thought as well (we thought 250 was on the cards). Let’s see, let’s keep trying to put the bowlers under pressure and see what score we get. But it wasn’t, like I said, it wasn’t easy to hit spinners through the line or at will. So we thought let’s keep the wickets in hand and try to bat deep. And I know there was a phase, I think, for about a couple of overs where we didn’t get the boundary in the 17th, 18th over. But I think we covered it well in the last over,” Gill stated.
The Titans captain explained that they used both strike fast bowlers, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj, right through the powerplay to "hold the fort up front". He emphasized that in the era of the Impact Player, picking up early wickets is the only reliable way to contain opponents.
“(Using two spearheads right through the powerplay) We believe it’s important to hold the fort up front. That’s where the thought process comes from. We see if we take wickets up front, it always gives our bowlers a bit more chance in the middle overs to attack and then get even more wickets. Because the only way with the impact player and the kind of wickets that there are, the only way to contain the other team is if you keep picking up wickets. There is no other way. So that’s the thought process behind it. Always look to keep attacking and always look to keep taking the wickets,” he remarked.
Shubman Gill also shared update on his ankle twist that occurred during a run, saying it was "quite painful" initially but settled down after about 30 minutes.
“(On his ankle injury) I think I just, while taking the run, I think twisted my ankle a little bit. It was quite painful. But I think after half an hour or so, it settled down a bit,” he concluded.
