Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag’s batting efforts (68* off 38 and 76 off 48) went in vain as Rashid Khan’s all-round performance ended Rajasthan Royals’ unbeaten run in IPL 2024. Rashid cut the last ball for a boundary to backward point region to help Gujarat Titans to a three-wicket win at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Jos Buttler arrived for this game with a century in his previous outing – against RCB – but the home team didn’t have service from the openers once again as both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Buttler departed early. After almost having chopped on in the first over off Umesh Yadav, Jaiswal got going with a flurry of boundaries but his innings was cut short in the fifth over when his attempted scoop against the pacer reached the wicketkeeper’s gloves safely. In the next over, Rashid had Buttler caught at slips, edging a slash. It reduced Royals to 42 for 2.

The two in-form batters Parag and Samson yet again came to Royals’ rescue. Parag enjoyed the rub of the green early on as Wade dropped him twice – on 0 and 6. The duo survived against the spin threat of Rashid and Noor Ahmad, as RR were limited to 52/2 in 8.1 overs. That’s when Parag cut loose, sweeping Noor over the mid-wicket fence. A few balls later, Mohit Sharma’s inability to back up a throw resulted in five runs and Royals got the momentum they needed. Even though the batters were largely cautious against the spinners, they took a few chances every over and kept the scoreboard moving at a reasonable pace. In the 13th over, Parag nailed two slog sweeps off Noor and then brought up his half-century in the next over by depositing Mohit over the long on fence.

Samson, who was playing the secondary role till then, got going against Spencer Johnson by smashing two boundaries and a six in the next over. He then employed his scoops and reverse scoops – not always to the best effect – but it proved productive enough. In the 17th over, Rahul Tewatia tripped over and allowed the ball to go past him and help Samson to another half-century.

Parag departed in the penultimate over, holing out to Vijay Shankar in the deep, where the fielder took some time to take control of the catch – falling over, lobbing the ball and then taking it a few inches away from the ropes. Nonetheless, the 130-run stand in 78 balls between Samson and Parag set the platform for RR’s massive total.

Umesh Yadav’s wayward lines and lengths, coupled with some brute force of Shimron Hetmyer in the last over powered Royals to 196 for 3.

In quite a contrast to Royals, Gujarat Titans got a steady start courtesy their openers. The duo were largely conservative with their strokeplay, but pounced on the opportunities that came their way. Sai Sudharsan cut Trent Boult for a boundary when the left-arm pacer provided some width and pulled Avesh Khan for a six when he bowled a poorly directed short ball. Shubman Gill, on the other hand, was a bit more adventurous. He went down the track to Keshav Maharaj and hammered him for a six and then took toll of Avesh’s full deliveries, driving him for a couple of boundaries. By the end of the powerplay, they had reached 44 for no loss.

Yuzvendra Chahal put down an easy return catch in the eighth over, offering Sudharsan a life at 32, but the opener couldn’t take advantage of it, as he departed three runs later in the next over – trapped legbefore by Kuldeep Sen. The pacer was on fire after dismissing Sudharsan. In his next over, he cleaned up Matthew Wade and Abhinav Manohar as GT slipped from 64/0 to 79/3. Ashwin and Maharaj were hard to put away through the middle overs. Chahal was also effective, but time and again was hit for boundaries. However, the spin trio ensured that despite a strong start, Titans were left needing 85 runs in the last six overs with six wickets in hand.

Gill, who had 35 balls to bring up his fifty, cut loose against Ashwin and Chahal. Just when he was looking well set to take on the target, he was lured out of his crease with a wide delivery from Chahal that spun away from his arc, and was stumped. Shahrukh Khan hit a few lusty blows against Ashwin but was trapped legbefore by Avesh in the 18th over.

However, an erratic last over by Kuldeep flipped the momentum of the contest and left Titans needing 15 runs off the last over. There were wides, there was a no ball, there were low full-tosses put away for boundaries as Rashid and Rahul Tewatia combined to collect 20 runs. To make it worse, Royals were five minutes behind the scheduled time when the last over started – and had one fewer fielder outside the third yard circle. This, despite using three spinners to bowl half their quota of overs.

Needing 15 runs off the last over, Rashid heaved the first ball through the square leg region for a boundary. Two balls later, he got a thick outside edge past the ‘keeper for another four. Tewatia was run out off the penultimate ball while attempting a third run, which left GT needing two runs to win off the last balls. Rashid cut it past the vacant backward point region for a four.

Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals 196/3 in 20 overs (Riyan Parag 76, Sanju Samson 68*, Yashawi Jaiswal 24; Umesh Yadav 1-47,  Rashid Khan 1/18, Mohit Sharma 1-51) lost to  Gujarat Titans 199/7 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 72, Sai Sudharsan 35, Rahul Tewatia 22, Rashid Khan 24*; Avesh Khan 1-48,  Kuldeep Sen 3-41, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-43) by 3 wickets