GT vs RR: Gujarat on top of IPL 2025 table with 4th win in a row

Gujarat Titans (GT) moved to the top of the IPL 2025 standings by thrashing Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 58 runs in Ahmedabad on Wednesday night (April 9).

After setting a 218-run target for RR, the home team bowled out the opposition for 159 in 19.2 overs. For GT, Sai Sudharsan starred with the bat with a half-century.

Shimron Hetmyer top-scored for RR with a 32-ball 52 while captain Sanju Samson chipped in with a 28-ball 41.

Prasidh Krishna took three wickets while Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore got two each for GT.

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With their fourth win in a row and eight points from five games, GT are at No. 1 in the points table while RR are seventh with four points from five matches.

GT's perfect start

Defending 217, pacers Mohammed Siraj (1/30) and Arshad Khan (1/19) struck early to give GT the perfect start.

Arshad drew first blood, removing the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal (6) who slashed at a wide one and picked out Rashid Khan at deep third.

In the very next over, Nitish Rana (1) attempted an upper-cut off Siraj but met the same fate, guiding it straight to the fielder at deep third man.

But Samson and Riyan Parag (26) launched a fiery counterattack. Parag smoked three no-look sixes, while Samson dispatched anything loose to the boundary with casual ease, taking RR to 57/2 in the powerplay.

The momentum swung again as Impact Sub Kulwant Khejroliya (1/29) had Parag caught by Buttler, before Rashid Khan removed Dhruv Jurel (5) to leave Rajasthan tottering at 68/4.

Samson and Hetmyer added 48 runs to keep hopes alive, but Prasidh Krishna (3/24) dealt the killer blow.

He first dismissed Samson as the wicketkeeper tried to steer one behind square but only managed to skew it high towards Sai Kishore, who held on calmly at the edge of the circle.

Krishna then returned to snare Hetmyer.

Sudharsan sizzles

Earlier, Sudharsan extended his purple patch with a classy half-century as Gujarat Titans posted 217 for six.

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Sudharsan was in sublime touch, timing everything to perfection. He hit eight boundaries and three sixes in his 53-ball 82 for his third fifty of the season.

After leaking plenty of runs initially in the IPL, Jofra Archer (1/30) is well and truly back to his best. With the new ball in hand, he cranked it up to 152.3 kph in his first over, then returned in his second to clean up Shubman Gill (2) with a steaming 147.7 kph inswinger that beat the inside edge and crashed into Gill's off stump.

Archer then greeted Jos Buttler (36) with a sharp bouncer, but the former England captain responded a couple of balls later with a crisp four to the deep-cover boundary.

With Sudharsan taking charge, Buttler joined the party with back-to-back boundaries off Fazalhaq Farooqi (0/38) in the seventh over.

In the next over, he sliced Maheesh Theekshana (2/54) through the offside for a four, before lofting him straight down the ground for another boundary.

But Theekshana had the last laugh, trapping Buttler leg-before, ending an 80-run partnership.

Shahrukh’s 20-ball 36

Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson immediately turned back to Archer in a bid to stem the flow of runs, and the Barbados-born pacer repaid the faith with a tight over that went for just six.

But Shahrukh Khan (36 off 20) exploded into action in the very next over, slamming consecutive boundaries before muscling one over deep extra cover to inject some much-needed momentum into the GT innings.

The boundaries kept coming as Shahrukh went after Theekshana in the 14th over that yielded 16 runs.

Royals responded by striking twice in quick succession, removing Shahrukh and Sherfane Rutherford (7) to pull things back.

Sudharsan was handed a life on 81 but couldn’t make much of the reprieve, as Tushar Deshpande induced a thin edge to send him back into the dugout.

(With agency inputs)