Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans meet at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday, with both sides on the fringes of the top four, separated only by net points.
Rajasthan have the bat to hurt any opposition but have given up two totals above 220 in consecutive matches, indicating a side that is yet to click as a unit.
Gujarat will arrive in much better form. Three wins on the trot, Kagiso Rabada led a strong pace attack and Jason Holder added flexibility in both departments. Prasidh Krishna’s absence remains unexplained, but it has not escaped their notice for a moment.
Off the field, Rajasthan will be wearing their special all-pink jerseys as part of the Pink Promise initiative, with every six hits powering homes across rural Rajasthan via solar energy.
Form, stakes and purpose all in one evening in Jaipur.
RR vs GT: Can the Royals get it together?
Rajasthan have runs but not results. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel all contributed with the bat, but the team’s inability to defend totals north of 220 twice in a row points to something deeper than a bad night.
Jurel is an example of this. Gifted and important, but still unranked when it matters. Scores of 42 off 30, 16 off 20 and 42 off 30 in his last three matches suggest that the batsman is doing enough to take away games from the opposition.
The bowling, especially in the middle overs, was too easy to target. Riyan Parag’s side has firepower posting big scores but not yet the discipline to protect them. Until these two things align, Rajasthan will keep finding ways to lose games they should be winning.
RR vs GT: The Pink Promise
Saturday’s game has significance beyond the scoreboard. Rajasthan will wear their all-pink jerseys as part of the Pink Promise initiative, now in its third season, which uses IPL matches to promote women-led social change in rural Rajasthan.
This year’s jersey has its own story. Designed by 19-year-old Samiksha Mundada from Nashik, selected from over 8,500 entries across the country, it features designs inspired by the sun’s rays along with the names of women supported by the Royal Rajasthan Foundation.
The action on the field directly follows the campaign. Every six hits during the match power six homes in Rajasthan with solar energy, in a program that has already electrified 260 homes in 2024 and 520 in 2025, with women from the Sambhar region trained to install and maintain the infrastructure themselves.
Cricket and community, all in one evening.
RR vs GT: Are the Titans peaking at the right time?
Three wins on the trot, a steady batting order and a pace attack that would trouble any side in this competition. Gujarat looks ominous and they know it.
Shubman Gill has been steady without always converting his starts into the big scores he deserves. However, Sai Sudharsan is in the form of his life, with two fifties and a hundred in the last four innings making him the most dangerous batsman in this match. Jose Buttler’s return to consistency only adds to the opposition’s attacking headache.
Kagiso Rabada’s 16 wickets lead a bowling unit as strong as any in the competition, with Mohammed Siraj offering sharp support. Prasidh Krishna’s recent absence remains a mystery, though it barely registered in their results.
The only caveat is their fragility when things go wrong, as that 100 all out against Mumbai showed. But right now, Gujarat look like a side that will hit their stride at exactly the right moment.
RR vs GT: Playoff picture
Both sides come in knowing exactly what they need and neither can afford to blink.
Rajasthan have 14 points with four matches remaining. Two wins should be enough to make the playoffs, three would secure a top-two finish and a direct trip to the Finals via Qualifier 1. Their net run rate of +0.510 is a useful cushion, but only if they keep winning. They lose too much and are at the mercy of other outcomes.
Gujarat are right next to them with 12 points, also with four to spare. The race for the top four is really tight, with four teams sharing 12 points, so every run, every goal and every result elsewhere counts.
History says 16 points will help you. Both teams know the number. Counting begins in Jaipur on Saturday.
GT vs RR: Team news
Prasidh Krishna, one of Gujarat’s leading run-scorers this season, has been absent from their recent matches for reasons that remain unclear. It didn’t hurt them. The addition of Jason Holder gave the Titans flexibility in both batting and bowling and they didn’t miss a step.
Another tough test awaits Rajasthan’s bowling unit in Jaipur. The wildcard could be Vignesh Puthur, whose left-arm wrist spin offers the kind of variation that might just unsettle Gujarat’s settled top order.
GT vs RR: Pitch and weather
The Sawai Mansingh Stadium surface tends to play hard before loosening up under the Jaipur lights, a trend that has consistently rewarded chasers in recent matches. Winning the toss and bowling looks like an obvious choice.
The day will be hot and hazy with temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius and a RealFeel of 42. Winds may gust up to 32 km/h. By evening conditions will ease to around 26 degrees, with dry skies and no rain forecast.
GT vs RR: Predicted XI
Rajasthan Royals: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Nandre Burger
Impact under: Ravi Bishnoi, Vignesh Puthur
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Nishant Sindhu, Manav Suthar, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj.
Impact under: Rahul Tewatia, Ashok Sharma, Prasidh Krishna
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
May 9, 2026 12:12 PM IST
