IPL 2026, GT vs RR 9th Match Match Preview – Contrasting top orders clash as GT face RR and Sooryavanshi

Big Picture – An opening bat-off

At the other end in Saturday’s IPL 2026 clash in Ahmedabad will be Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan, whose template involves risk-free runs and orthodox strokeplay. That doesn’t mean they score slowly; they put on 912 runs at a partnership strike rate of 159.33 last year. They have volume, speed and quality. It’s just that Sooryavanshi is playing a completely different game, revolutionising the construction of a T20 innings.

Sooryavanshi can win games for RR in the powerplay, but he can’t do it every time. Gill and Sudharsan are as close as you’d get to the batting equivalents of an insurance policy. They put on seven fifty-plus stands last year; if they do it again, it’d be no surprise.

For argument’s sake, let’s say the openers cancel each other out. Even then, there’s a difference in approach between the two batting line-ups that could define the game: GT hit 63.92% of their runs in boundaries last year, the second-lowest among all teams. RR had a boundary percentage of 68.59%, which was the fourth-highest.

As in GT’s first game of this season, a defeat to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in New Chandigarh, six-hitting could make a difference again. GT hit three in that game while Punjab Kings hit 14. Last year too, GT’s percentage of runs in sixes was the second-lowest of all teams, at 26.90. RR’s was joint highest at 35.10.

At a time when T20 is moving in an increasingly boundary-oriented direction, GT play a slightly old-school version of the game. Against an RR side powered by a player from the future, they might need to lean on their bowling and play disruptor, or find a way to dictate the pace themselves.

Key question

Team News and Likely XII

GT weren’t able to finish their innings on a high against PBKS, and Kagiso Rabada didn’t look particularly threatening with the ball. They could either show faith in Rabada or address both problems by replacing Rabada with Jason Holder, whose presence will lend extra batting depth.

Gujarat Titans (probable): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Washington Sundar, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 M Shahrukh Khan, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Kagiso Rabada/Jason Holder, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Ashok Sharma.

RR picked just three overseas players in their starting XI against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and did not have to use their Impact Player en route to a comfortable win. Donovan Ferreira is a likely option to play that role in a bat-second scenario. Major changes, otherwise, are unlikely.

Rajasthan Royals (probable): 1 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 4 Riyan Parag (capt), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Donovan Ferreira, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Nandre Burger, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Ravi Bishnoi, 12 Brijesh Sharma.

Nandre Burger will be a key bowler in the powerplay•BCCI

In the spotlight: Jos Buttler and Nandre Burger

Jos Buttler looked out of sorts during the T20 World Cup last month, and didn’t start IPL 2026 particularly well either. His 33-ball 38 against PBKS included 14 dots. With GT being top-heavy and with their batting mantra being at least one of the top three carrying on until around the 15th over, Buttler will hope to hit his straps soon.Nandre Burger took two of Chennai Super Kings’ top three – Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre – in his first two overs. He can hit 140kph and generate good bounce with his height. He has two right-handers in Gill and Buttler to target in GT’s top three, at a ground where the run rate in the powerplay (8.54) is lower than it is in the middle overs (9.87) and death (10.12).

Stats and Trivia

• Ahmedabad was the highest-scoring venue in the IPL last season, featuring 11 totals of over 200.
• Jofra Archer has dismissed Shubman Gill three times in 19 balls while conceding just 16 runs.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are on their way to becoming the fastest Indian pair to 500 partnership runs (by balls) in the IPL. They currently have 497 runs in 246 balls. The record is currently held by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who got to 500 in 309 balls.

Pitch and Conditions – High-scoring with a bat-first advantage

Six T20 games have been played on pitch No. 7 in Ahmedabad since the start of 2024, four of which have been won by the team batting first. The average first-innings scores in these matches is 207. The run rate in the middle overs is 9.87, showing little deceleration after the powerplay. The weather is expected to be clear for the evening, with the temperatures hovering around 27 degrees Celsius.

Quotes

“He is a top player, there’s no doubt about it. He had a bad one, one-and-a-half months which can happen to any player. It happens to most top players – Sachin [Tendulkar], Virat Kohli had such a big [lean] patch. But these players always come back. It’s a matter of one innings for such players to get back to form.”
Gujarat Titans’ Assistant Coach Aashish Kapoor brushes aside concerns around Jos Buttler’s form

Next three fixtures

Gujarat Titans
April 8 vs Delhi Capitals in Delhi
April 12 vs Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow
April 17 vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad

Rajasthan Royals
April 7: vs Mumbai Indians in Guwahati
April 10 vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Guwahati
April 13 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad

Ekanth is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo