Rajasthan Royals (RR) climbed to the top of the points table in IPL 2026 after winning their first two games in the new season. On Saturday, April 4, they defeated the Gujarat Titans (GT) in a high-scoring thriller at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Chasing a 211-run target, the Titans were set up nicely after the first 10 overs. In the last 10, they needed 108 runs with nine wickets in hand. However, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi turned the game on its head by bagging a four-for in quick time. The dream run for the diminutive spinner started with the wicket of the well-set Sai Sudharsan in the 11th over, and he went on to dismiss Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, and Rahul Tewatia subsequently.
In the end, Bishnoi finished with figures of 4/41 in his four overs as the inaugural champions won the match by six runs.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra opined that Bishnoi should have earned at least INR 10-11 crores at the IPL 2026 mini auction. The 25-year-old was released by the Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the auction, and the Royals acquired his services for INR 7.20 crore.
“Ravi Bishnoi, we were talking at the time of the auction that he was sold very cheaply – seven crores is cheap. He should have got 10-11 crores. He was a brilliant acquisition at seven crores. He picked up four wickets and made the difference in the end because all the important wickets were in his name,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Chopra also mentioned that the inclusion of Tushar Deshpande in place of Brijesh Sharma worked out well, as the Mumbai seamer conceded just four runs in the last over while defending 11.
“Tushar Deshpande came into the team and Brijesh Sharma wasn’t there, and what a change in the end because Tushar Deshpande was standing between a win and a loss. Tushar Deshpande executed those yorkers beautifully. Thumbs up with both hands for executing under pressure,” he observed.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the most explosive openers of this league: Aakash Chopra
Chopra also hailed Rajasthan Royals’ top-three batters – Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and Dhruv Jurel. The cricketer-turned-expert opined that Jaiswal and Suryavanshi are the most explosive opening pair in the tournament. Meanwhile, he spoke about his fondness for wicketkeeper-batter Jurel.
While Suryavanshi scored a quickfire 31 (18) at the top, Jaiswal and Jurel contributed with 55 (36) and 75 (42), respectively.
“Before that, Dhruv Jurel. They have taken a big call this season to make him bat at No. 3, and he was absolutely stellar. He batted almost till the end. He scored his first Test century at this ground only. Very good guy. I love him to bits. I feel very happy when he does well. Then their two openers. In my opinion, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the most explosive openers of this league,” he said.
Chopra also noted that Gujarat have some problems in the batting department, which was aggravated by skipper Shubman Gill’s injury. The former opined that the 2022 champions could have won the match had they planned their chase better.
“GT, this match was yours. There are problems in batting. Shubman Gill’s injury, of course, didn’t help, but wickets fell at regular intervals. I thought it was a slightly haphazard chase. You could have won this game had you constructed it slightly better,” Chopra observed.
