It was the end of the road for the 2008 champions, the Rajasthan Royals (RR), as they suffered a 7-wicket defeat at the hands of the Gujarat Titans (GT) to bow out of the tournament. The Titans, with this win, have qualified for their 3rd IPL final since coming into the IPL in 2022. RR had their moments with the bat, but lost out on key moments and were taken to the cleaners with the ball in hand. We will try to analyse why RR went down and bowed out in Qualifier 2.
A slowdown in the middle phase while batting broke the momentum of RR
RR won the toss and decided to bat first and were rocked early in the power play as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel fell in the first two overs of the match. Thereafter, there was a brilliant counterattack by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi alongside Ravindra Jadeja as the duo took the attack to the opposition inside the power play. They attacked the famous GT bowlers and, despite losing two wickets, had the better of the power play. The score after 6 overs for RR was 70/2 and set for a big score.
But things slowed down post the power play phase. An unfortunate injury to Jadeja with a tennis elbow meant he retired hurt at the end of 8 overs for 34 runs. It meant Riyan Parag came out to bat, and the RR captain took down Rashid Khan, who was far from his best on the night. But Parag’s stay at the crease was short-lived as he fell for 11 off 6 balls to Jason Holder. Dasun Shanaka came and struggled for his 9-ball 3 before he fell to Holder as well. Jofra Archer was sent up the order, and after hitting a maximum, he too fell.
This meant that the scoring rate dipped as Jadeja came back to resume his innings alongside Vaibhav. Jadeja was not the same batter post the injury as he took singles and played dot balls, making it all the more difficult for the others, like Vaibhav. RR went from 70/2 in 6 overs to 138/5 in 15 overs. To put things into perspective, RR managed 68/3 in overs 7-15, i.e. equivalent to 9 overs. This phase of slowdown really hurt RR, and they will know that perhaps, this was the phase they lost the plot and the difference of a score around 230-240 to 214 was made here.
Inability to break the opening stand and get early wickets sealed the fate of the match
214 was still a good score on the board, and RR would have hoped for early wickets. But what followed was a batting masterclass from the dynamic duo of Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill as they complemented each other really well. It was the Shubman Gill show in New Chandigarh as the GT skipper dazzled under the lights in Mullanpur. Sai gave him great company as the duo love batting with each other, and that is a threat to the opposition.
RR had their opportunity when the score was 41 for GT, and Sai was batting on 14* when Donovan Ferreira dropped the catch. He not only dropped the catch, but also dropped the match and the tournament. Because after that, Sai grew in confidence and built the match-winning stand with Gill. But the captain was the show stealer and did not give the opposition any chance out there in the middle. The duo matched RR’s start, scoring 69/0 in power play. But they upped the ante in the middle phase.
They aced the middle phase and outplayed RR in this particular phase with the bat in hand. The duo batted for more than half the overs and scored 167 runs inside 13 overs. They put on 167 for the first wicket before Sai fell to a hit wicket yet again for 58. But the job was done already. Gill completed his 5th IPL ton. Gill fell for 104, but by that time, the equation was down to run a ball. The game was sealed easily in the end.
RR bowlers lacked lines and lengths and bowled badly. They did not bowl up to their potential and paid the price. Once Archer was taken down, there was no one to stand up for RR, and the reality hit them hard. RR punched above their weight to reach this far and now have to settle for 3rd place finish in IPL 2026.
Jofra Archer’s rare off-day under pressure hurt RR
The other aspect that completely derailed RR’s plans was the performance of Jofra Archer on the big night. He was promoted up the order and hit a maximum before getting out. That was fine, as his main job is to do it with the ball and rattle the opposition. He had 214 to defend and knew that taking early wickets is the only way to dent GT, as they are dependent on their top order to fire. But unfortunately for Archer and RR, things did not quietly fall into place.
The duo of Gill and Sudharsan took the attack to Archer, which made the bowler panic, and he bowled wides for fun and extras were conceded as well. The first over sets the ton, and that went for 17 runs. Archer continued, and the second over went for 12 runs. His initial 2 overs went for 29 runs, and that in itself was game over. RR are heavily reliant on Archer to deliver early wickets to get them in the contest. But this time he failed to do so, and the others could not step up to the plate.
Yes, he came back later and got the wicket of Gill, but the damage was done by then. He finished with 1/45 in 4 overs, meaning the last 2 overs of his innings, he went for 16 runs and picked up a wicket. Better spell, but not good enough on the night. Archer should be proud of the performance that he delivered throughout the tournament, but once he failed, the fate was sealed for Rajasthan. RR needs to fix some loose ends to come back stronger next season.
It has been a decent and successful campaign for RR with the young team that they had at their disposal. As they bow out in 3rd place, they can hold their heads high but will be bitterly disappointed with how it panned out last night. But such is the nature of sport and cricket.
What Lies Ahead
As RR bow out of the tournament, we are all set for the grand finale of IPL 2026. It’s going to be the top two sides in the league phase clashing against each other in a repeat of Qualifier 1. It is the defending champions, RCB, taking on the 2022 champions and home team GT live from Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The final is set for Sunday evening. It promises to be a blockbuster clash with anyone capable of lifting their second crown. The one who plays better will win.
Let the better team and best team on the night win in Ahmedabad.
Also Read: GT vs RR: Shubman Gill’s 5th IPL Ton Knocks Out RR