Rajasthan Royals (RR) started their journey in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by winning the title back in 2008. Shane Warne helped the Royals make a name in the very first season of the cash-rich league. But since then, RR have not had the best times in the tournament.
Since the first season, the Royals are yet to get their hands on the title. In 2022, RR made their way through to the final, but lost to Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Titans, on the other hand, have played the finals of the 2022 and 2023 and have emerged as a brute force. They will now look to flourish under their new skipper Shubman Gill.
The Titans have mostly dominated the Royals, having won four out of five matches. In their previous meeting, GT beat the Royals by nine wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
Rashid Khan won the Player of the Match award after he picked up three wickets and bowled at an economy rate of 3.50. After opting to bat first, GT bowled RR out for 118 in 17.5 overs. The Titans chased down the target with 37 balls to spare.
A friendship like these two! ?? pic.twitter.com/42DadLf7lw
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 4, 2023
Read also: RR vs GT prediction
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GT vs RR head to head record
The Titans and the Royals have faced five times with each other. GT beat RR in their first three of their meetings in 2022 including the final of the tournament. But recently, the Royals opened their account with a win in 2023.
Here is a look at how the current GT vs RR head to head record stands:
| Matches played | 4 |
| RR won | 1 |
| GT won | 3 |
| tie | 0 |
GT vs RR IPL match results
As mentioned earlier, the Titans are ahead of the Royals on the overall count. But it is RR, who have the momentum with a victory by three wickets of late.
Here is a more detailed look at how this rivalry has unfolded:
| Date | Winner | Margin | Venue |
| 16th April, 2023 | Rajasthan Royals | 3 wickets | Ahmedabad |
| 14th April, 2022 | Gujarat Titans | 37 runs | Mumbai |
| 24th May, 2022 | Gujarat Titans | 7 wickets | Kolkata |
| 29th May, 2022 | Gujarat Titans | 7 wickets | Ahmedabad |
GT vs RR IPL stats
Most runs
Hardik Pandya, the skipper of the Titans, is the leading run-scorer in matches between the two teams. He is followed by Jos Buttler, who has been a crucial part of the RR setup since 2018. Buttler has scored 182 runs. David Miller, Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson also feature in the list with 177, 138 and 132 runs respectively.
| Player name | Runs |
| Hardik Pandya | 228 |
| Jos Buttler | 190 |
| David Miller | 177 |
| Shubman Gill | 174 |
| Sanju Samson | 162 |
Most wickets
Apart from being the top run-getter, Hardik Pandya is also the leading wicket-taker in contests between the teams. He has picked up six wickets. Fast bowler Mohammed Shami also has as many wickets to his name. Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson and Sai Kishore have three wickets apiece to their names.
| Player name | Wickets |
| Hardik Pandya | 7 |
| Mohammed Shami | 7 |
| Rashid Khan | 4 |
| Yash Dayal | 5 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 4 |
Best match in the Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals head to head
The two teams recently faced off in a thrilling encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The match went down to the last over where the Royals came up trumps and ended their losing streak against the 2022 champions.
Here is a look at how the match unfolded:
Game – 2
After being put in to bat first, the Titans scored 177 for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. Shubman Gill laid the platform for GT with a knock of 45 runs off 34 balls with four fours and one six. Sai Sudharsan and Hardik Pandya scored in their 20s, but failed to carry on. The momentum eventually came from David Miller and Abhinav Manohar.
Miller scored 46 runs off 30 balls with three fours and two sixes before Sandeep Sharma accounted for his wicket in the last over of GT’s innings. Manohar threw his bat around to score 27 runs off 13 balls with the help of three sixes.
Sandeep was the pick of the bowlers for the Royals after he finished with figures of 4-0-25-2. Apart from dismissing Miller, the pacer also got the crucial wicket of Gill. Trent Boult, Adam Zampa and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up one wicket apiece.
The Royals chased down the target with four balls to spare. Sanju Samson laid the platform for RR with a knock of 60 runs off 32 balls, laced with three fours and six sixes. He was severe on Rashid Khan, who had an off day after finishing with figures of 4-0-46-2. Rashid also got the prized wicket of Devdutt Padikkal.
After Samson got out, Shimron Hetmyer took charge and guided the Royals past the finish line. Hetmyer stayed not out on 56 runs off 26 balls with two fours and five sixes. Ravi Ashwin also lent him support with a knock of 10 off three balls. With seven runs needed off the last over, Hetmyer hit Noor Ahmad for a six to seal the fate of the match.
