Kolkata: The Rajasthan Royals (RR) will face the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 9th match of the season at GT’s home ground, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on 4th April 2026 at 7:30 PM. RR started their season with a dominating win against CSK, while GT suffered a loss against PBKS in their first match.
Both teams will play their second match of the season at the T20 World Cup-winning venue in Ahmedabad. RR has returned this season with a strong, balanced squad, which was evident in their dominant win against CSK. Young star Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored an explosive 50 off just 15 balls, an outstanding performance that has secured his name among the fastest fifties in IPL history. On the other side, last year’s playoff qualifier GT started their campaign with a loss. Their bowlers performed well, especially Prasidh Krishna, who took 3 wickets in 4 overs for just 29 runs. The clash between RR and GT is expected to be a contest between GT’s captain Shubman Gill and RR pacer Jofra Archer, who dismissed Gill three times in 19 deliveries while conceding only 16 runs. However, Gill looked in good form in the last match, scoring 39 off 27 balls, and is just 95 runs away from completing the milestone of 4,000 IPL runs. GT needs to perform better to bounce back in the league. This rivalry has been faced 8 times in IPL history, with GT winning 6 matches and RR winning 2. Both teams also played the 2022 final, where GT won the trophy.
RR Squad:
Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Donovan Ferreira, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Aman Rao Perala, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja, Vignesh Puthur, Brijesh Sharma, Adam Milne, Kuldeep Sen, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger
Predicted Playing XI (RR):
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Donovan Ferreira, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma
GT Squad:
Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Tom Banton, Glenn Phillips, Sai Sudharsan, Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Mohd. Arshad Khan, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Luke Wood, Kulwant Khejroliya, Rashid Khan
Predicted Playing XI (GT):
Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Jason Holder, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
The match is expected to be played in pleasant conditions, with temperatures around 27°C dropping to 23°C and no rain expected, ensuring a full game. The pitch at Narendra Modi Stadium is generally batting-friendly with good bounce but can assist pacers early on. As the match progresses, dew in the second innings may make batting easier, giving an advantage to teams chasing. It will be interesting to see if GT can bounce back in the league and if RR can continue their positive momentum.
