IPL 2026 | Match 09: GT vs RR | Preview and Prediction

Gujarat Titans will seek to get back to winning ways while Rajasthan Royals will continue to carry on the winning streak as they lock horns in the second game of tomorrow’s double-header in Match Number 9 of the 2026 IPL season.

Here is our Preview and Predictions for the game

IPL 2026 | Match 09: Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals | 19:30, 04 April

Gujarat Titans’ opening loss was a game of two halves. Their ordinary batting performance was almost saved by a disciplined and high-quality bowling performance that dragged the game against the Punjab Kings to the last over. 

The Titans’ batting seems to be too reliant on their top 3 of Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler. While Sai fell cheaply, Buttler and Gill were unable to capitalise on the starts that they got, which meant that the rest of the batting order was exposed and they failed to get the better of what was a pretty tight and impressive Punjab bowling attack.

Glenn Phillips flattered to deceive and was dismissed rather cheaply, and it took some wayward bowling in the last over from Arshdeep for the Titans to cross the 160-run mark on a surface where 180-185 seemed to be the par score.

Their bowling, however, saw a marked improvement, especially the Indian bowlers. Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj were disciplined, and it was Krishna’s 3 wickets that put his side right back into the game. Rashid Khan and Washington Sundar were equally disciplined in their lines and lengths. 

However, Kagiso Rabada’s bowling performance will be a talking point for the Titans. He went for 34 runs in his 3 overs and was targeted as the bowler by Punjab to release the pressure whenever the required rate was creeping up. So there are still a few chinks in the GT armour that need ironing out ahead of this game.

Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, will welcome the winning start after a commanding performance saw them make easy work of 5-time champions Chennai Super Kings. The bowling led by Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger was impeccable, and was ably supported by Ravindra Jadeja, bowling out CSK for a paltry 127.

With the batting, Yashasvi Jaiswal carried his bat throughout the run chase, but once again it was the audacious brilliance of teen starlet Vaibhav Suryavanshi that one again stole the show and took the game away from CSK. He trailblazed his way to a 16-ball-50 and made an absolute mockery of the CSK bowling attack. The innings looked pristine because it was a rather tricky pitch to bat on given the rain ahead of the game and the sticky nature of the wicket.

RR will definitely fancy their chances against a GT side that is still not yet clicked into full gear. We believe that it will be the Rajasthan Royals who will be favourites to win this match.

Fantasy 11: Shubman Gill, Vaibhav Suryavanshi ( c ), Jos Buttler (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Nandre Burger, Jofra Archer, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Winners Prediction: Rajasthan Royals