You don’t tinker with the winning combination. Especially one match into a tournament. And that’s exactly what the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will do in the second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The surface, ground dimensions, and opposition will change, but Rajasthan’s team won’t.
After manhandling the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Guwahati, the Gujarat Titans (GT) are Rajasthan’s next challenge. Now, the 2008 champions won’t get the same help with the ball at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Although there’s some early movement with the new ball in Ahmedabad, it won’t be like Guwahati, where the ball seamed quite a bit due to the damp conditions.
But there’s a good reason why Rajasthan won’t tweak their team. In the modern T20s, winning the powerplay, with bat and ball, is important. RR had CSK 41/4 in the 6 overs. In stark comparison, they themselves were 74/0. And that’s the best way to ensure victory in an IPL match nowadays. Whoever maximises the powerplay generally wins.
Predicted Rajasthan Royals Playing XI vs Gujarat Titans
| S. No. | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Vaibhav Suryavanshi |
| 2 | Yashasvi Jaiswal |
| 3 | Riyan Parag (c) |
| 4 | Dhruv Jurel (wk) |
| 5 | Shimron Hetmyer✈️ |
| 6 | Donovan Ferreira✈️ |
| 7 | Ravindra Jadeja |
| 8 | Jofra Archer✈️ |
| 9 | Ravi Bishnoi |
| 10 | Nandre Burger✈️ |
| 11 | Sandeep Sharma |
| Impact Sub | Brijesh Sharma/ Ravi Singh/ Shubham Dubey |
Rajasthan has decided to go all in on fast bowling. They played 4 quicks against CSK. That tactic should work against GT as well. The surface and ground dimensions will help the pacers. Although spin also works in Ahmedabad. In the IPL 2026 opener, each and every RR bowler performed. That won’t happen often, since totals under 130 are an anomaly in the tournament.
Similarly, Rajasthan’s batting wasn’t tested. Vaibhav Suryavanshi blew CSK away. But again, the chase of 128 meant that he and the other batters were under no pressure at all. Yashasvi Jaiswal didn’t look in the best of nick. Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, and Ravindra Jadeja didn’t even bat.
RR aren’t the perfect team, but they’ve gotten off to a perfect start. In the future, they are expected to change a few things, but in the second game and off the back of an emphatic victory over the 5-time champions, they will stay put.
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