GT humble Sanju's Royals after Sai's 82; even Rashid Khan got a piece of the pie

Gujarat Titans made short work of Rajasthan Royals to climb to the top of IPL 2025 table with a fourth straight win. Shubman Gill's bowlers complemented a brilliant 82 by opener Sai Sudharsan to deliver a comfortable 58-run win in Ahmedabad.

Prasidh Krishna's disciplined bowling fetched him 3/24 while veteran spinner Rashid Khan finally ended his wicketless three-game run with 2/37.

Rajasthan never quite put up a fight chasing Gujarat's 217/6. Two modest partnerships aside, Sanju Samson's Royals seemed off colour, and were bundled out for 159. Sanju made 41 but fell tamely, to a perfect field setting for Prasidh. The extra bounce did the trick as Sai Kishore took an easy catch at short third.

Shimron Hetmyer's valiant 52 off 32 was entertaining, but lacked the support from his teammates. Six of Rajasthan's wickets fell for single digits, including their impact sub Shubham Dubey (1).

Earlier, Sai Sudharsan scored his third half century of IPL 2025 to guide Gujarat Titans to a solid total at home. The left-hander scored a brilliant 82 from 53 balls and managed to bat almost the entire innings. Tushar Deshpande got him to edge one behind in 18.2 overs. In three of his last four matches, Sudharsan scored 74, 63 and 49. Five runs against Sunrisers was the only time he failed to score big.

Jos Buttler looked promising against his former side but could not capitalise on a steady start, making 36. Shahrukh Khan (36) seemed set for a blockbuster innings but was stumped by Samson off Maheesh Theekshana, who finished with 2/54.

The home captain, Shubman Gill, did not start the game well. First, he lost the toss and then got castled by Jofra Archer for just two runs. The English pacer has certainly recovered from his disastrous start to the season, in which he conceded 76, the worst spell in IPL. Archer followed up his 3/25 against Punjab with an economical 1/30, giving away just one six across his four overs.

Wanindu Hasaranga was a big miss for the Royals due to personal reasons. Rahul Tewatia (24 off 12) smashed a couple of sixes in the end to bulk up the total.

Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 217/6 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 82, Jos Buttler 36, Shahrukh Khan 36, Tushar Deshpande 2/53, Maheesh Theekshana 2/54) bt Rajasthan Royals 159 in 19.2 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 52, Sanju Samson 41, Riyan Parag 26, Prasidh Krishna 3/24, Rashid Khan 2/37, Sai Kishore 2/20)